3 players who have definitely played their final game with the Steelers

These three players won't be afforded the opportunity to come back to Pittsburgh in 2024.
Pittsburgh Steelers, Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers, Steelers / Justin Casterline/GettyImages
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 3
Next

Chukwuma Okorafor, OT

For several years now, Chukwuma Okorafor was the greatest beneficiary of a lack of competition at the offensive tackle position in Pittsburgh. The Steelers liked Chuks as a developmental tackle coming out of Western Michigan back in 2018. But as time went on, the raw OT showed very little improvement.

By Year 3, Okorafor became a full-time starter on the Steelers. There he would remain until early in the 2023 season. After three-and-a-half years of mediocre play (both at left and right tackle), Okorafor finally took a seat. Surprisingly, it wasn't his play that got him benched; rather it was reportedly disciplinary action for remarks he made while the Steelers were losing.

Though he didn't cut it as a starter, Okorafor could be a respectable swing tackle (which is where he projected all along). However, due to his lofty $11.83 million price tag in 2024, there isn't a chance that Pittsburgh can keep him around at this price, and the front office could save $8.75 million in cap space by releasing him.

It looks like the Steelers may have an offensive tackle of the future in 2023 first-round pick, Broderick Jones. While Chuks could theoretically stick around to battle it out for the other tackle job, the Steelers are clearly frustrated with him, and they are likely to look for an upgrade at OT this offseason anyway. This would make Moore the swing tackle and bump Okorafor off the roster. There's little doubt that Okorafor has already played his last football in Pittsburgh.