On Tuesday, the NFL transaction wire noted that the Pittsburgh Steelers had officially released offensive tackle Chuks Okorafor. This comes a week after it was first reported that Okorafor was set to be released as a way to cut some salary cap.
The move frees up $8.75 million in salary cap space and gets the Steelers closer to cap compliance. The team still needs to trim around $4 million more to hit the break-even point.
Okorafor was benched back in late October after a humbling loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Okorafor was overheard criticizing the team from the sidelines. Was this a valid reason to sit him down or was this just an excuse to hand the job over to then-rookie Broderick Jones? We will never know.
With Okorafor gone, it leaves Jones and Dan Moore Jr. as the only viable offensive tackles on the roster and makes this a top offseason need.