Reports Reveal What Chuks Okorafor Said Before Benching
PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers made a surprising change along the offensive line in Week 9, and appear to be sticking to it moving forward. Rookie Broderick Jones replaced Chuks Okorafor at right tackle, and the reasoning was for something the veteran said following the team's loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Okorafor admitted he regretted saying what he did, but the details of his actions were unknown. That is until now as Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Gerry Dulac reports that Okorafor was complaining about the offense running the same group of run plays in the loss.
"Okorafor was upset the offense was using the same plays despite trailing the entire game, including 17-3 in the third quarter," Dulac writes. "It is unclear to whom Okorafor directly vented his anger and what else might have been said or done."
To add more to the story, DK Pittsburgh Sports' Dejan Kovacevic reports that Okorafor made a remark that the Steelers should take a kneel for the remainder of the game, which was overheard by head coach Mike Tomlin.
"Okorafor's a good player, a good teammate, a good guy. Who, I'm told by multiple locker-room sources, made a mistake near the end of the 20-10 loss to the Jaguars at Acrisure Stadium in remarking, apparently within earshot of Tomlin, that the offense should simply kneel out the remainder of the clock rather than continuing to run plays," Kovacevic writes.
Okorafor is the team's highest-paid offensive lineman and still has one year remaining on his salary. It's unknown what the Steelers' plans are after Week 10, and after acknowledging Jones is a better left tackle than right, it's still up for debate what the long-term outcome is for this situation.
Make sure you bookmark All Steelers for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!
Packers Suffer Major Loss Ahead of Steelers Game
Steelers In Danger of Losing Another ILB
Antonio Browns Makes George Pickens Situation Worse
