Patriots sign former Steelers tackle to deal

The New England Patriots are currently in rebuild mode. While the biggest topic surrounding the team is who they’ll be sporting as QB1 next season, other aspects of the offense also need tweaking, and that includes the offensive line. The Patriots know this, based on their most recent move. On Thursday, the team agreed to a deal with former Pittsburgh Steelers tackle Chukwuma Okorafor, per NFL insider Ian Rapoport.

Okorafor spent six seasons with the Steelers, after being drafted by the team in 2018. The 6-foot-6, 320-pound lineman appeared in a total of 77 regular season games throughout his career, starting 59 of them. Last season, Okorafor played in 436 offensive snaps.

The Patriots struggled in pass-blocking last season, so their frontline could use a bit of shaking up. Aside from free agency and trades, the team may opt to select a raw prospect in the draft, considering how they’re nearly at the top for each draft round.

Regardless, having different faces in the O-line won’t matter unless the Patriots have solid skill-position performers. As mentioned, the quarterback issue is at an all-time high in New England. Mac Jones is expected to be traded somewhere else after a quiet 2023, so a potential team resurgence this year highly depends on who will be taking on the skipper role.

In addition, the team is looking to supplement their potential future QB with new receivers next season. The Patriots finished 2023 with Ezekiel Elliot, a running back, as their leader in total receptions, and it doesn’t help how another running back (Rhamondre Stevenson) and a tight end (Hunter Henry) take up slots in the team’s top five reception leaders.

All in all, there’s more work to be done, but signing Chukwuma Okorafor is a start.