Patriots place left tackle on exempt/left squad list after substitution in Week 1

The New England Patriots announced Saturday that the team has placed offensive tackle Chukwuma Okorafor on the exempt/left squad list. The move comes almost exactly a week after he was benched in the club's first game against the Cincinnati Bengals, where he started at left tackle. In a corresponding move, the club promoted guard Michael Jordan to the active roster.

Okorafor signed a one-year deal with the Patriots in March and was considered a candidate to play blindside tackle upon his arrival, despite never playing left tackle during his NFL career. That position battle was a central theme throughout the summer as new head coach Jerod Mayo searched for his top five linemen and started Okorafor at left tackle.

He didn't hold that left guard position for long, however, as he was benched for Vederian Lowe just 12 snaps into the game. According to Next Gen Stats, Okorafor allowed Bengals pass rusher Trey Hendrickson to pressure him three times in five snaps (h/t Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald).

On Monday, after the surprise win against Cincinnati, Mayo admitted that there had been “problems” with Okorafor at that position.

“I think he [Okorafor] has all the skills to be a good tackle in this league,” Mayo said. “I would say during the game there were some challenges. He had some challenges there and some problems, and [Vederian] Lowe came in and did a great job for us. Once again, it's about competing every week and we'll see how this week of preparation goes. He [Okorafor] could be there. I'm not sure. We'll just have to wait and see how the week goes.”

Okorafor came into the league in 2018 as a third-round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers out of Western Michigan. Given this latest transaction, it seems like Okorafor's days in Foxborough are all but over.