The New England Patriots enter the 2024 NFL season with serious worries about their offensive line. The left tackle spot is chief among those concerns.
Offseason addition Chukwuma Okorafor is slated to protect quarterback Jacoby Brissett's blindside to start the new campaign. It's a new role for the 27-year-old lineman, who spent his six seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers on the right side.
While Okorafor has accepted the challenge of transitioning to left tackle, he acknowledged in a conversation with NBC Sports Boston's Kayla Burton that it has been a difficult adjustment.
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"I asked him, 'All right, how are you feeling with all this rotation?'" Burton recalled on Tuesday's Quick Slants. "And he goes, 'Well, Kayla, I came from the Steelers where I was a starting right tackle. I was on the right side and now I'm on the left side. Not only is this a new and unfamiliar position a little bit, but I'm working with completely different guys. We're still getting to know each other.'"
The Patriots, now led in the front office by executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf, signed Okorafor to a one-year deal worth $4 million in March. NBC Sports Boston's Patriots insider Tom E. Curran believes New England should have done a better job of determining whether the 2018 third-round draft pick was "all in" on moving to the other side of the line.
"This was who should have been vetted by the personnel department prior to bringing him in," Curran said. "They said, 'Chuks Okorafor would be our starting left tackle.' They said that back in April or May when we spoke to Eliot Wolf. They should have vetted this out a little bit better to find out whether or not Chuks Okorafor was all in to be the left tackle, because certainly he's gonna do it if they ask him to, but it doesn't seem like he's over the moon about it. Tough place to be in Week 1."
Okorafor was penalized three times for illegal formation during the Patriots' preseason finale vs. the Washington Commanders. It was a disastrous night all around for the offensive line, which was flagged 10 times in the 20-10 defeat and allowed a sack that resulted in Brissett leaving with a right shoulder injury.
Fortunately for the Patriots, Brissett will be good to go as their starting QB for the team's Week 1 showdown with the Cincinnati Bengals. But if the o-line looks anything like it did throughout training camp and the preseason, it will be a long day for the veteran signal-caller.
Kickoff for Pats-Bengals is set for 1 p.m. ET on Sunday.
You can watch the full Quick Slants episode below or on YouTube: