In a surprise roster move, the Patriots placed offensive tackle Chukwuma Okorafor on the reserve/left squad list ahead of their Week 2 matchup with the Seattle Seahawks.

Head coach Jerod Mayo addressed that transaction during a pregame interview Sunday, telling 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Scott Zolak that he had a conversation with Okorafor about his decision to leave the team.

“I had a conversation with Chuks, and first, it had nothing to do with football,” Mayo said. “I called him, and it had everything to do with the man. I wanted to make sure that he was good, in a good space and really considering and taking into consideration that this is what he wanted to do.

“But once again, I look at these as long-term relationships and care more about the individual than anything else.”

A source told the Herald’s Doug Kyed that Okorafor had “checked out mentally over the past month or so” and informed the team of his departure. It’s not viewed as a temporary leave.

Okorafor was New England’s first external free agent signing this offseason, and he was expected to start for a Patriots team that sorely lacked stability at the tackle position in recent years.

But after a tumultuous summer that featured multiple position changes and a penalty-riddled preseason finale, the 27-year-old was benched early in last week’s regular-season opener.

Okorafor played just 12 snaps against the Cincinnati Bengals and received a Pro Football Focus grade of 0.0 (out of 100). Vederian Lowe played the rest of the game, which New England won 16-10 in the largest upset of Week 1.

All 12 of Okorafor’s snaps came at left tackle, a position he hardly played in his six seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was a career right tackle before joining the Patriots and played there for part of training camp, but New England tabbed Mike Onwenu as their Week 1 starter in that spot.

Okorafor’s departure bumped third-round rookie Caedan Wallace up a rung on the depth chart. He’s now the top swing tackle behind Lowe and Onwenu (and also saw frequent work as a jumbo tight end against the Bengals).

Post-cutdown additions Zach Thomas and Demontrey Jacobs are the other tackle options on New England’s 53-man roster. Thomas was active for the first time Sunday against the Seahawks. Jacobs was a healthy scratch for the second straight week.