For the second Saturday in a row, the Patriots raised the guard Michael Jordanwhich means he will be promoted from the practice squad to the active roster for Sunday’s home game against the Seahawks. Like last week, Jordan is expected to take the left guard spot Sidy Sowwhose participation was downgraded to “out” on Friday due to an ankle injury.
In addition, the Patriots placed Offensive Tackle Chukwuma Okorafor on the Exempt/Left Squad list on Saturday. The designation allows a team to free up a roster spot – in this case for Jordan – without officially releasing the player.
Okorafor, 27, came as a free agent in the offseason via Pittsburgh. He was a former third-round pick of the Steelers who had played most of his career as a right tackle, and the Patriots had often asked him to play left tackle since arriving in New England. The 6-foot-6, 315-pound player, who was traded in the first quarter of last Sunday’s game against the Bengals in favor of Vederian LoweAt times he seemed to struggle to fit into New England’s offensive line.
“Chuks has been a player in the league for a long time,” Offensive Line Coach Scott Peters said last week. “He’s played most of the time, mostly as a right tackle. We asked him to play left after some injuries. He’s worked hard and tried to improve every day. I think he’ll continue down that path.”
Jordan, who was one of five players to play every offensive snap in last Sunday’s 16-10 win, has had a wild start to the season. He was originally released on cutdown day but was later re-signed to New England’s practice squad. And now he’s poised to start his second straight game at left guard in the season opener.
Jordan, 26, a 6-foot-6, 300-pound product from Ohio State, played for the Bengals, Panthers and Packers during his career before signing a futures contract with the Patriots earlier this year. Peters was impressed with Jordan, praising him for his professionalism and coachability.
“MJ is a total professional,” Peters said. “He’s been through a lot in the league. I know he’s had some ups and downs in his career. But what impresses me most is his approach and his professionalism. He works on everything and really tries to do exactly what we want. And that has clearly shown.”
According to Peters, the same kind of consistency also characterized the rookie right guard Layden Robinson. The fourth-round pick from Texas A&M is one of five who played well from start to finish in the win over Cincinnati. Peters stressed that it’s a long season, but he likes what he’s seen so far from the 6-foot-3, 300-pound player.
“Layden is the same person every day he walks into this building and has been since he’s been here,” Peters said. “I’m really impressed with Layden as a person. He has some good qualities that would make him a really good player and he uses those qualities.”
“As a rookie, it’s a difficult position. It’s a difficult sport to play No. 1, but playing offensive line with all its intricacies is challenging. I think he’s done a good job so far. But he knows there’s still a lot of room for improvement. And that only comes with experience.”
“He’s a really tough guy,” veteran David Andrews said. “He wants to do it right. He’s very trainable in that respect. If you tell him something, he tries to do it as best as he can.”
“He just does a great job of trying to soak up all the information he can get and trying to correct things that need to be corrected to move forward. I’ve really enjoyed working with him and I think he’s done a great job.”
Eight for training
The Patriots had eight players training on Friday: DE Keshawn Banks (San Diego State), DB Mile Battle (Utah), DB Akeem Dent (State of Florida), LB Andreas Bauer (track), DB DJ James (Auburn), DB Kenny Logan (Kansas), DB Keni-H Nice (West Michigan) and DB Mark Perry (Christian from Texas).
During the season, workouts can happen for a variety of reasons. First, teams are always looking to change the roster and find more depth at a certain position. In this case, with six defensive backs in town, it’s clear that the Patriots could be thinking about strengthening their secondary.
Second, practice games can also be used to gather information on the next opponent. With that in mind, it’s worth noting that James was a sixth-round pick of the Seahawks last spring before being released late last month. Additionally, Perry was part of the Texans’ practice squad before being released earlier this month. (New England faces Houston on Oct. 13.)
Seahawks promote RB Holani
With Seattle running back Kenneth Walker III questionable for Sunday’s game, it was no surprise that the Seahawks rookie running back George Holani from the practice squad. Seattle also added tackle McClendon Curtis from the training squad… Carl Cheffers is scheduled to work Sunday’s game. Cheffers’ team was one of the most willing to let teams play last year — overall, only one other referee team threw fewer flags than Cheffers’ group in 2023. On average, his team issued the fewest penalties to home teams last season, at 4.69 per game.
Christopher Price can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @cpriceglobe.
