Starkey: Steelers' Failure To Develop Chukwuma Okorafor Is An Indictment On Mike Tomlin

The Pittsburgh Steelers are moving on from offensive tackle Chukwuma Okorafor after six seasons. News dropped on Monday that he had been released, along with two others. The writing was on the wall for the team's third-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft after he was demoted in favor of Broderick Jones after a loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 8. The circumstances around his benching were a little strange, with Head Coach Mike Tomlin's explanation of events being different from the one Okorafor provided. 

Joe Starkey of 93.7 The Fan dug into Okorafor's tenure with Pittsburgh on his show on Tuesday. He argued that his career was heavily mismanaged, and that's a reflection on the head coach. 

"Chuks [Okorafor] is an indictment of Tomlin. Here's a guy who they signed to a $29 million contract with over $9 million guaranteed. They paid Chuks and they misidentified him. He's a below-average to average player that's not here."   

He started his tenure in Pittsburgh playing sparingly in his first two seasons. He made his first career start in 2018 in a Week 12 loss to the Denver Broncos, replacing an injured Marcus Gilbert. He didn't make another start until Week 10 of the 2019 season against the Los Angeles Rams. 

In 2020, Zach Banner won the starting job out of camp, but was injured in the season opener visiting the New York Giants. He had to have season-ending surgery to repair his knee. Okorafor was thrust into the starting role and became the starting right tackle for the rest of the season.

Steelers' Problems With Okorafor Began In 2021 Offseason

Starkey argued that the most prominent example of how the Steelers mismanaged Okorafor's tenure in Pittsburgh stems from the 2021 offseason. In training camp, Pittsburgh had Banner, Okorafor, and a rookie left tackle, Dan Moore Jr., battling for starting jobs after the departure of Alejandro Villanueva. They planned to move Okorafor to the left side for the first time in his career and have Banner start at right tackle. 

As well-intentioned as the Steelers' desires for the 2021 season were, even the best-laid plans fall through. Banner missed almost all of camp, still rehabbing his knee, so, the thinking of moving Okorafor to the left side was dashed. 

"Let's dig into the thinking here," Starkey mused. "We have a guy we are projecting to be our left tackle. That’s our offseason plan. We think enough of Chuks to move him to left tackle and the whole plan goes awry because Zach Banner got hurt? Forget it, we’ll take Chuks away from his natural position, won’t even move him there and in OTA’s and we’ll reconfigure everything. 'We couldn’t possibly find somebody at right tackle to replace Banner. It’s not Dan Moore’s natural position.'"

Okorafor started all but one game in 2021 and was awarded with the extension that Starkey criticized. Banner was released in March 2022, shortly after the contract was signed by Okorafor.

Pittsburgh went through similar trials and tribulations with Jones in his rookie season. The natural left tackle only started one game on that side against the Baltimore Ravens, filling in for an injured Moore. His other 10 starts came on the right side after Okorafor's benching. Tomlin wouldn't divulge the plan for Jones moving forward at his final meeting with the media of the 2023 season.

Okorafor should find a new home somewhere else for the 2024 season. He will be 27 in March and has 59 starts to his name. The main issue for Pittsburgh was the price tag he carried for the 2024 campaign, especially if he was relegated to backup duty. 

The important thing for the organization is to have learned something from the Okorafor experience. The team can start to show that with how they manage Jones going forward. 

Do you agree with Starkey that Okorafor had his career in Pittsburgh mismanaged?