Why the starting lineman was put on the exit list

One day before their first home game, the Patriots made a significant change to their roster.

New England placed Chukwuma Okorafor on the non-roster list on Saturday afternoon. The decision came less than a week after Okorafor was benched for poor performance in the Patriots’ season-opening win over the Cincinnati Bengals.

According to Karen Guregian of MassLive, New England placed the offensive lineman on the Exempt/Left Squad List because he is “debating whether he still wants to play football.” Although that term is often used for players who leave their respective teams without notice, Okorafor’s agents have been in contact with the Patriots to discuss their client’s status.

New England signed Okorafor to a one-year, $4 million deal in March after the 2018 third-round pick spent the first six seasons of his NFL career with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The 27-year-old started at left tackle for the Patriots in Week 1 but was quickly replaced by Vederian Lowe, who was dealing with his own significant issues in Foxboro, Massachusetts.

Lowe will likely guard Jacoby Brissett’s blind side again on Sunday when New England hosts the Seattle Seahawks. After the Patriots placed Okorafor on the Exempt/Left Squad list, ESPN’s Mike Reiss expressed his opinion that the veteran O-lineman will not play for New England again this season.