THE Pittsburgh Steelers have released offensive tackle Chukwuma Okorafor.
The team announced on Monday that it was releasing the 26-year-old in a salary cap saving move.
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By releasing Okorafor, the Steelers save $8.75 million for the 2024 season while incurring a $3 million dead cap hit.
Okorafor was drafted in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft by the Steelers out of Western Michigan.
He became a starter in 2020 after replacing Zach Banner due to injury in the season opener.
Okorafor started every game of that season and turned into an every-week starter for the team.
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He remained a starter until halfway through the 2023 season when the Steelers benched him for first-rounder Broderick Jones.
Okorafor claims he was benched for making a comment about not wanting to finish a game in which they were losing to the Jaguars in Week 8.
He never played another snap at tackle after that game.
After the Steelers' playoff loss to the Buffalo Bills, Okorafor seemed unhappy with being a Steeler.
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“If I had known that was going to be the case, I probably wouldn’t have chose to come back here,” he said.
“But at that point, there wasn’t anything I could do about it.”
Terry Bradshaw abruptly absent from Fox NFL Sunday as host Curt Menefee reveals Steelers icon is off sickHowever, he still feels that he can compete as a starting player in the NFL.
“That’s the plan,” he said.
“I think I’m young. I feel like I’ve got a lot of ball left in me.”
Alongside the release of Okorafor, the Steelers also released quarterback Mitch Trubisky and punter Pressley Harvin III.
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