This offseason, the New England Patriots opted to let starting left tackle Trent Brown leave in free agency, and they're attempting to replace him with a veteran signing, Chukwuma Okorafor, and a third-round draft pick, Caedan Wallace.
Okorafor was brought in first after spending his first six seasons in the NFL with the Pittsburgh Steelers. During those six years, he appeared in 77 games and started 59.
So, while the 26-year-old joins the Patriots with plenty of experience, he doesn't have much on the left side. In his 3,933 offensive snaps, he's played just two snaps at left tackle.
Still, Okorafor is not worried about the transition, and he made sure everyone knew that after New England's second training camp session on Thursday.
“I don’t want to be the guy that talks about what he did in the past, but I’ve played left and I’ve played right before," Okorafor said (via. The Boston Herald's Zack Cox). You guys always try to make it a big deal, and to me, it’s really not a big deal.”
Okorafor has been getting a decent amount of work at left tackle so far in camp while Wallace has been working on the right where he played at Penn State. This may indicate that the team is leaning toward starting the former Steeler on the left side when the season starts.
However, until Okorafor gets game reps protecting Jacoby Brissett or Drake Maye's blind side, it's hard to feel comfortable about the situation.
