Chukwuma Okorafor informed the Patriots he was leaving

[maust]

He sucked for 6 years in Pittsburgh on the right side before he got moved to the left. He sucked here on both sides… that had nothing to do with it. He just sucked… period.…

Hyperbole much? He sucked for 6 years in Pittsburgh? He sucked so bad for his first 4 years the Pittsburgh brain trust paid him $10.5M per for years 5 & 6. Dude may have fallen off the planet once he got paid but he sure as hell didn't 'suck' those first 4 or he never would have gotten paid. Orakafor is hardly the first guy to fall off once he got paid and he won't be the last, that doesn't change the fact he played well enough in the first 4 years to reach that pay day.

No one should have a problem with New England taking a flyer for a few millon on a guy who'd shown he could be a decent player. OTOH if they were really counting on him to make a major contribution vs just taking a shot with him, that we should all have a problem with.

 

[Wozzy]

Hyperbole much? He sucked for 6 years in Pittsburgh? He sucked so bad for his first 4 years the Pittsburgh brain trust paid him $10.5M per for years 5 & 6. Dude may have fallen off the planet once he got paid but he sure as hell didn't 'suck' those first 4 or he never would have gotten paid. Orakafor is hardly the first guy to fall off once he got paid and he won't be the last, that doesn't change the fact he played well enough in the first 4 years to reach that pay day.

No one should have a problem with New England taking a flyer for a few millon on a guy who'd shown he could be a decent player. OTOH if they were really counting on him to make a major contribution vs just taking a shot with him, that we should all have a problem with.

It’s not hyperbole, and a team with a terrible line and no clue how to fix it paying him is not verification that he is good.

The Giants paid Daniel Jones… is he good?

Give me a break. The Steelers literally traded draft picks with us so they could improve their offensive tackle position and fire Chuks… he sucked. The Steelers offensive line has stunk for years, pretty much since coach Mike Munchak left.

There was zero justification for making him their free agent priority this off-season… none.

 

[BennyBledsoe]

No, it wasn't knowing Andrews was going to be injured, it was knowing that David Andrews is at the back end of his career. Always be looking for more depth.

 

[dliverey44]

Depending on his injury status, D.J. Humphries is a guy I’d like them to consider. I’m assuming Bakhtiari is holding himself back waiting for Tryon Smith’s usual injury. Donovan Smith is another guy, not very good but is he worse than Lowe?

I would say he is probably worse than Lowe. My wife is a Bucs fan so I have watched him much more frequently than I will admit. Dude is so much trash

 

[Triumph]

Can't read Twitter/X since I live in a dictatorial state where a Supreme Court Judge just blocked X because he is in a fight with Elon Musk

Did you try CNN?

 

[Triumph]

Maybe he will come back at halftime with the Pats losing bad like Bobby Bouche?

 

[rkarp1]

the way I see it, is that Chuks base salary of $1.125 guaranteed after last weeks game.
he also has a sign bonus of $2m, that the team can contend, or negotiate a settlement.
he also had a per game bonus totaling up to $680k if he played all games, which of course he will not play any other than 1.
all in all, he was a $2m ish flyer at Ot for a team that had a completely bare cupboard.

 

[signbabybrady]

It’s not hyperbole, and a team with a terrible line and no clue how to fix it paying him is not verification that he is good.

The Giants paid Daniel Jones… is he good?

Give me a break. The Steelers literally traded draft picks with us so they could improve their offensive tackle position and fire Chuks… he sucked. The Steelers offensive line has stunk for years, pretty much since coach Mike Munchak left.

There was zero justification for making him their free agent priority this off-season… none.

He cost 4 mil what makes you call him a priority?

LT was our biggest need but clearly we didn't prioritize it.

 

[Real fan 02]

Yeah, he could’ve been ****ing around to try to get cut so he could just take his $3M guaranteed and go relax instead of play. They didn’t cut him so now he’s ditching them instead. I’m not sure what the monetary ramifications are, but since he did play in week 1 I have to assume he gets his guarantees from the deal regardless.

Players like him are considered quitters, I can totally understand if it's for health or mental health reasons. But this guy.... so many Players that are in HS now or college that would relish an opportunity to have a starting Job in the league and this guy just doesn't give 2 ****s.

 

[PatsFan2]

Mayo is going to be a good one: maybe among the greats someday. This move of identifying that garbage is something. Him moving on quickly from players ie... Wide-Left and Okorafor who's a detriment to his Team speaks volumes. Mayo wants to win and we are going to win some games we probably shouldn't.

 

[PatsFan2]

He cost 4 mil what makes you call him a priority?

LT was our biggest need but clearly we didn't prioritize it.

BB paid T-Rex arms Riley Reif $6Mill last year for doing exactly nothing. GM's make mistakes thank goodness it's $4Mill this time around. Remember they Drafted C Wallace who should be in the rotation more. Also V Lowe didn't look Okorafor bad last week.

 

[signbabybrady]

BB paid T-Rex arms Riley Reif $6Mill last year for doing exactly nothing. GM's make mistakes thank goodness it's $4Mill this time around. Remember they Drafted C Wallace who should be in the rotation more. Also V Lowe didn't look Okorafor bad last week.

Is Reif available?

 

[PatsFan2]

Is Reif available?

I hope not.

 

[PatsFan2]

Is Reif available?

Don't be surprised if you see Cole Strange working at LT when he starts practicing. Strange is built like a zone Blocking LT like those Tackles on those old SB winning Denver Teams with Elway.

 

[rkarp1]

it's not $4m. the base is guaranteed ($1.25). the sign bonus will be contended/negotiated. obviously he won't see his per game bonuses or snap count bonuses.
he will have been a $2m flyer
60+ nfl starts
relatively young
his heart is no longer in the game
smartly move on.
this is what happens when the prior management team left the cupboard bare. takes time to recover.

BB paid T-Rex arms Riley Reif $6Mill last year for doing exactly nothing. GM's make mistakes thank goodness it's $4Mill this time around. Remember they Drafted C Wallace who should be in the rotation more. Also V Lowe didn't look Okorafor bad last week.

25)

 

[rkarp1]

Don't be surprised if you see Cole Strange working at LT when he starts practicing. Strange is built like a zone Blocking LT like those Tackles on those old SB winning Denver Teams with Elway.

I still see Strange having a hard time sticking even when healthy
we saw the Pats ground and pound with bully ball last week. STrange is not getting Sow or Robinson out unless injury

 

[Wozzy]

He cost 4 mil what makes you call him a priority?

Wolf rushing out to make Chuks one of the first free agent signings in the entire NFL meant he was a priority to them.

There were better options for similar or even less money. Throw that 4 million in the incinerator... that's what you've done when you rely on bad players.

LT was our biggest need but clearly we didn't prioritize it.

Wolf screwed up both tackle positions... they needed two.

 

[signbabybrady]

Don't be surprised if you see Cole Strange working at LT when he starts practicing. Strange is built like a zone Blocking LT like those Tackles on those old SB winning Denver Teams with Elway.

Injury aside I'm one that's still in his corner. He'll never make us feel like a first Rd pick was worth it but he was at least somewhat decent starter. And was still improving. If he can return to health he'll contribute again. I'm counting on him and Sow to lock down guard so Onwenwu can stay at tackle.

I wouldn't be against trying him at LT either but that's asking a lot of someone coming off such a major injury. Hopefully he can play again at all.

 

[signbabybrady]

Wolf rushing out to make Chuks one of the first free agent signings in the entire NFL meant he was a priority to them.

There were better options for similar or even less money. Throw that 4 million in the incinerator... that's what you've done when you rely on bad players.

Wolf screwed up both tackle positions... they needed two.

Absolutely screwed up the tackle position. I would say the problem is they didn't prioritize it. They spent little money and draft capital on it.

Compare that to QB or WR where they tried to spend big money or used high draft capital. That shows what they prioritized way more than the order in which things were signed.

Either way they screwed up tackle and we have to live with it.

 

[Ross12]

it's not $4m. the base is guaranteed ($1.25). the sign bonus will be contended/negotiated. obviously he won't see his per game bonuses or snap count bonuses.
he will have been a $2m flyer
60+ nfl starts
relatively young
his heart is no longer in the game
smartly move on.
this is what happens when the prior management team left the cupboard bare. takes time to recover.

25)

Yeah I looked into this more, and Miguel put up a short thread about this too.

Basically his guarantees were mostly in two parts - a guaranteed $1.25M salary and a $2M signing bonus. Because he’s jumping shift after one game, the Pats will withhold 16 out of 17 game checks of that salary which should now be voided and no longer guaranteed. The signing bonus was already “paid”, however apparently $600K of that $2M was deferred to 2025. I am sure that will be withheld, and they can file a grievance to recoup most of the other $1.4M already paid if they wish.

He did he a few hundred thousand in reporting bonuses and workout bonuses which he will keep, because he met them. All in all the Pats should be able to keep around $1.6M or so, and file to get back a good chunk of the $1.4M they’ve already given him.