Romeo Okwara
#1 DE,
Free Agent
ACTUAL 2022
20 FPTS
RANK: 670
2023 SEASON
- FPTS
RANK: -
AGE
27 yrs
HEIGHT/WEIGHT
6'4'' / 255 lbs
COLLEGE
Notre Dame
| SEASON | GP | FPTS | RANK |
| 2022 | 5 | 20 | 670th |
Announces retirement
Published: 2024-03-19
Okwara announced his retirement from the NFL on Tuesday, Kyle Meinke of MLive.com reports.
Okwara spent his first two seasons with the Giants, but he spent the majority of his career in Detroit. The Notre Dame product played in 92 games across his eight-year career. He tallied 25 sacks during that time, including a career-high 10 in the 2020 season. The 28-year-old will now look ahead to life without football, while the Lions will need to add depth to the defensive line in an effort to replace him.
Weekly Stats 2022
Stats not availablePerformance Splits: 2020 to 2022
| Home | Dome | 12 | 8 | undefined | NaNth | 506 | 11 | 14 | 5 | 100% | 0 | 0 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 0 | undefined | undefined |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Away | Outdoor | 10 | 4 | undefined | NaNth | 418 | 7 | 13 | 7 | 100% | 0 | 0 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 1 | undefined | undefined |
| Away | Dome | 1 | 1 | undefined | NaNth | 53 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0% | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | undefined | undefined |
| Away | Retractable Dome | 2 | 0 | undefined | NaNth | 74 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 100% | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | undefined | undefined |
Career Stats by Season: 2016 to 2022
| 2016 | 21 | NYG | 16 | 4 | 34 | 531th | 369 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 33% | 2 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 22 | NYG | 6 | 0 | 3 | 835th | 82 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 23 | DET | 15 | 14 | 101 | 225th | 711 | 11 | 26 | 8 | 33% | 1 | 0 | 14 | 7.5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 24 | DET | 14 | 1 | 41 | 507th | 605 | 14 | 12 | 1 | 50% | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2020 | 25 | DET | 16 | 9 | 137 | 114th | 744 | 12 | 27 | 11 | 100% | 1 | 0 | 18 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | |
| 2021 | 26 | DET | 4 | 4 | 13 | 761th | 187 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 100% | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 27 | DET | 5 | 0 | 20 | 670th | 120 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0% | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Two sacks in 2023
Published: 2024-02-27
Okwara recorded nine tackles, two sacks, two pass breakups and one forced fumble over 16 games in 2023.
After appearing in just nine games between 2021 and 2022 due to a torn Achilles, Okwara did well to stay healthy for most of the year. However, he has yet to regain the form he displayed during Okwara's 10-sack 2020 campaign, which does not bode well for the 28-year-old as he enters unrestricted free agency.
Accepts pay cut
Published: 2023-04-01
Okwara has agreed to a restructured contract to remain in Detroit in 2023, Justin Rogers of The Detroit News reports.
Okwara reportedly took a massive pay cut by lowering his base salary from $11 million to $2 million after missing most of the past two seasons due to a torn Achilles. The 27-year-old will now compete for a prominent role in Detroit's pass-rush rotation ahead of the 2023 campaign before hitting free agency in 2024.
Records two sacks in 2022
Published: 2023-02-04
Okwara recorded eight tackles and two sacks over five games in 2022.
After tearing his Achilles just four weeks into the three-year, $37 million contract Okwara signed in 2021, the Notre Dame product didn't return until Week 14 of the 2022 campaign, only making a difference during a two-sack performance against the Jets in Week 15. With the Lions able to save over $7 million against the salary cap by potentially letting him go this offseason, Okwara is not certain to return to Detroit in 2023.