Patriots release veteran offensive lineman after one season
The New England Patriots are moving on from an offensive lineman who never panned out after signing in 2024.
As reported Monday by ESPN’s Field Yates, the Patriots have released veteran tackle Chukwuma Okorafor as the first order of business in the 2025 off-season. Okorafor, 27, joined the Patriots after six seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and entered training camp projected to start at one of the team’s offensive tackle spots.
Okorafor ultimately started just one game at left tackle for the Patriots, before leaving the team during Week 2. He was placed on the rarely used “reserve/left squad” list, but remained on the roster until Monday. Unsurprisingly, Okorafor intends to sign with a new team for 2025.
The origin of Okorafor’s struggles in New England could be traced back to the team trying him at left tackle, after he’d spent the first six seasons of his NFL career playing right tackle. The move decidedly didn’t work out, as tackle problems piled up and persisted throughout the season.
Okorafor was emblematic of a rough first year all-around for Eliot Wolf as the Patriots’ de facto GM. He remains with the organization to start the 2025 off-season, but new head coach Mike Vrabel is reportedly in charge of the football operation and brought in former Titans exec Ryan Cowden to work alongside him.
Improving at offensive tackle will be among the highest priorities for Vrabel and the Patriots front office in 2025. It will be hard to end up with a worse situation than they did with Okorafor.
