With the Steelers season wrapped up, here is a regrading of the team’s ten free agent signings from last season.
The Steelers couldn’t find a way to sneak into the playoffs after changing directions during the midseason mark. While Mike Tomlin’s impressive, albeit overhyped, never had a losing season record lives on, a Dolphins win cost this team a playoff spot. The team has a lot of work to do this offseason to get this team back on track.
Before delving too far into this offseason, I wanted to grade the major free agents that came to the team last year. Some signings were great, while others now look worse than I thought they would. Before the next crop of free agents makes their way to town, here is a final list of grades for the Steelers 2022 free-agent signings.
Steelers re-signed Okorafor
Contract: 3 years, 29.25 million
Initial Grade: D+
Final Grade: D-
Chukwuma Okorafor was a steady player before this season. Never an elite blocker, the former third-round pick took consistent steps every season until he became a very average starter. I wasn’t optimistic that he would return, but the Steelers inked him to a healthy-sized deal last offseason. The structure makes it easy to get out of in 2023, but he was still getting paid close to a 10-million-dollar average.
That is a lot for an average right tackle, and while his early season play looked a little better than I thought it would, he faded down the stretch. He was never a complete liability, but both tackle spots were a weakness on a bad offense. Okorafor was being paid a lot this season, and he didn’t even live up to the average billing I had him labeled as. He should be an easy cut to make this offseason.