Eliot Wolf’s Belief Proved To Be Terribly Misguided After Patriots’ Roster Move
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Eliot Wolf put a lot of his confidence in Chukwuma Okorafor.
Wolf believed Okorafor, who signed a one-year deal with the Patriots after six seasons as the Pittsburgh Steelers right tackle, would be able to serve as New England's starting left tackle.
"If the season started tomorrow, I think it would be Okorafor," Wolf said in April when asked about the key position. "He played there in college. So we went back and watched that film, obviously evaluating him when he was coming out. And he's an athletic, big guy. So, we feel like he can make that transition back to playing the left."
Okorafor, however, was never told the Patriots wanted him to move to left tackle.
"I didn't really know for sure," Okorafor said in May.
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The 27-year-old signed with the Patriots because he thought he would have the chance to a compete for a starting job. Okorafor said it would take time for him to learn left tackle. He never sounded confident in the change.
Well, Okorafor's tenure with the Patriots already is over.
The Patriots on Thursday reportedly placed Okorafor on the reserve/left team list. He is not eligible to return this season. Okorafor played just 12 regular-season snaps as he was benched a dozen plays into New England's Week 1 win against the Cincinnati Bengals.
The reported designation shouldn't come as a major shock. It felt like the writing was on the wall ever since Okorafor stepped away from the team and the Patriots put him on the exempt/left squad list Saturday.
But it does confirm Wolf made a terrible roster decision. It's an incredibly easy second-guess given it felt like a questionable move from the very beginning.
The Patriots "addressed" the position by signing a veteran who never played the position, and it didn't last long. Okorafor started training camp at left tackle but last a two practices before rookie Caedan Wallace and eventually Vederian Lowe replaced him. An injury to Lowe, who started at left tackle during the majority of training camp, thrust Okorafor back to the left side in Week 1. But Okorafor was so bad that Lowe was thrown back into the fire despite the fact he wasn't fully healthy.
The Patriots' offensive line has been a major storyline through three weeks. New England ranks among the worst teams in the league in pass-blocking grades and quarterback Jacoby Brissett is under consistent pressure. The group, and specifically the left side, has greatly hindered the offense.
That falls on Wolf. And it will continue to fall on the first-year executive until the Patriots are able to fix it.
More NFL:
How Did Patriots’ Offensive Line Get This Bad?
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