FOXBORO — New Patriots defensive tackle Armon Watts is slowly getting accustomed to his new home, locker room and defense after signing a 1-year deal in free agency.
But there are a few familiar faces Watts sees in Foxboro, including a teammate he had last year with the Steelers: offensive tackle Chukwuma Okorafor.
Okorafor is among the group of veteran backups who could land the Patriots’ starting left tackle job this season. He’s primarily played right tackle over his six-year career, including the past three and a half seasons as the starter in Pittsburgh. The Steelers released Okorafor early this offseason, and he opted to sign a modest deal with the Patriots before free agency.
The 6-foot-6, 320-pounder has believers inside New England’s building — including Watts.
“He’s a great guy. Very athletic. Tall, lean, he’s been in the league for a while,” Watts said Thursday at Gillette Stadium. “Great guy in the locker room, I’m excited to see what he does here.”
Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo mentioned Okorafor last month when asked who would start at left tackle. Last year’s starter, Trent Brown, recently walked for a 1-year, free-agent deal in Cincinnati. Aside from Okorafor, who has played left tackle in the preseason, the Patriots did not sign any other outside offensive tackles in free agency.
“You look at our roster, we brought in some — we brought (Okorafor) in. Look, we’ll see when we put the pads on. It’s going to be tough,” Mayo said at the NFL Annual Meetings. “We have options.”
The Patriots’ other in-house options do not include a proven starter, from Conor McDermott to Vederian Lowe, Calvin Anderson and Tyrone Wheatley Jr. Mayo raised the possibility of newly re-signed right tackle Mike Onwenu switching sides, though Onwenu has never played left tackle in the NFL.
“(Onwenu) can play guard, he can play right tackle, he can play left tackle,” Mayo said last month. “But that’s one of those things where we have to have the conversation going forward.”
The Patriots are widely expected to select an offensive tackle high in this month’s draft. In the meantime, Okorafor ideally projects as a swing tackle and must wait until the draft to see how the front office will address the position next.