Chuks Okorafor says ‘no talk’ about move to left tackle, defends Steelers’ offensive line

New acquisition Jesse Davis’ locker at the Pittsburgh Steelers facility is just to the right of Chuks Okorafor’s.

The arrival of Davis, though, doesn’t mean Okorafor is moving across the Steelers’ offensive line.

A 30-year-old, six-year NFL veteran, Davis has started more games at right tackle than anywhere else — including 14 games last season. That’s led to speculation from the outside that the Steelers could slot Davis in at that spot and move incumbent right tackle Okorafor to the left side.

“I have heard nothing about that,” Okorafor said before practice Wednesday, “so I don’t even know who’s talking about that.

“I haven’t heard a thing of that from (coach Mike Tomlin) or (general manager Omar Khan), so I highly doubt that is what they are (thinking).”

The Tuesday trade for Davis came one year ago to the day from when Okorafor was moved from left tackle to the right side late in the 2021 training camp. Then-rookie Dan Moore Jr. slotted into the left side, part of moves that were necessitated by the lack of complete health of starting right tackle Zach Banner. Banner never fully recovered from 2020 surgery to repair a torn ACL.

Okorafor played well enough last season at right tackle that he earned a three-year contract extension in March. But as recently as last summer, Tomlin said Okorafor was a better left tackle than right. Coupled with Moore’s struggles so far this preseason and the trade for Davis from the Minnesota Vikings, some have guessed Okorafor could be moving back to the left.

“Talk,” Okorafor said, dismissively. “What talk? Where?

“That is Twitter talking. It is what it is. I don’t pay attention to it. I only pay attention to what my coaches say.”

That includes fans and analysts, who have panned the Steelers’ offensive line as a unit following two poor efforts in preseason games in which running backs have averaged less than 1 yard per carry and starting quarterback Mitch Trubisky often has been under pressure. This follows a 2021 regular season in which the Steelers’ offensive line was one of the weakest units on the team.

The trade for Davis might reinforce that, but Okorafor said the incumbent starting linemen aren’t viewing the acquisition as an indictment on their play. The Steelers’ longest-tenured offensive lineman, the fifth-year Okorafor also believes the unit will show better than some are saying it will this season.

“We are still all young, so we are getting better,” Okorafor said. “We really can’t focus on what the outside people are saying. Everyone is going to bash us — it is what it is. At the end of the day it would be doing me a disservice if I am looking up what people are saying about me or what people are saying about our line. That will just distract me from coming in every day and trying to work.”

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