diff --git a/ci-operator/config/openshift/release/openshift-release-master__nightly-4.21.yaml b/ci-operator/config/openshift/release/openshift-release-master__nightly-4.21.yaml
index e2b6574107bba..a706d084944f0 100644
--- a/ci-operator/config/openshift/release/openshift-release-master__nightly-4.21.yaml
+++ b/ci-operator/config/openshift/release/openshift-release-master__nightly-4.21.yaml
@@ -976,6 +976,7 @@ tests:
       CSI_MANAGEMENT_REMOVED: "true"
       FEATURE_GATES: '["VSphereMixedNodeEnv=true"]'
       FEATURE_SET: CustomNoUpgrade
+      STORAGE_CO_DEGRADE_CHECK: "true"
       TEST_SKIPS: \[sig-storage\]\|\[sig-arch\]\[Early\] Operators low level operators
     workflow: openshift-e2e-vsphere-upi-hybrid-env
 - as: e2e-vsphere-ovn-disk-setup-techpreview
diff --git a/ci-operator/config/openshift/release/openshift-release-master__nightly-4.22.yaml b/ci-operator/config/openshift/release/openshift-release-master__nightly-4.22.yaml
index 34c673f1e11da..75325eff9b8d4 100644
--- a/ci-operator/config/openshift/release/openshift-release-master__nightly-4.22.yaml
+++ b/ci-operator/config/openshift/release/openshift-release-master__nightly-4.22.yaml
@@ -973,6 +973,7 @@ tests:
       CSI_MANAGEMENT_REMOVED: "true"
       FEATURE_GATES: '["VSphereMixedNodeEnv=true"]'
       FEATURE_SET: CustomNoUpgrade
+      STORAGE_CO_DEGRADE_CHECK: "true"
       TEST_SKIPS: \[sig-storage\]\|\[sig-arch\]\[Early\] Operators low level operators
     workflow: openshift-e2e-vsphere-upi-hybrid-env
 - as: e2e-vsphere-ovn-disk-setup-techpreview
diff --git a/ci-operator/step-registry/ipi/install/vsphere/virt/ipi-install-vsphere-virt-commands.sh b/ci-operator/step-registry/ipi/install/vsphere/virt/ipi-install-vsphere-virt-commands.sh
index 28e96b358e096..d30917aa5d1a8 100755
--- a/ci-operator/step-registry/ipi/install/vsphere/virt/ipi-install-vsphere-virt-commands.sh
+++ b/ci-operator/step-registry/ipi/install/vsphere/virt/ipi-install-vsphere-virt-commands.sh
@@ -96,6 +96,20 @@ function wait_for_co_ready() {
   fi
 }
 
+# Wait for Storage cluster operator to have degraded status
+function wait_for_storage_co_degrade() {
+  echo "$(date -u --rfc-3339=seconds) - Waiting for Storage cluster operator to degrade"
+  if ! oc wait --for=jsonpath='{.status.conditions[?(@.type=="Degraded")].status}'=True clusteroperator/storage --timeout=60m; then
+    echo "$(date -u --rfc-3339=seconds) - FAILED: Storage cluster operator did not degrade"
+    exit 1
+  fi
+}
+
+# Patch CSI driver management state to be Removed
+function patch_csi_driver_removed() {
+  echo "$(date -u --rfc-3339=seconds) - Patching clustercsidriver managementState to be Removed"
+  oc patch clustercsidriver csi.vsphere.vmware.com --type=merge --patch 'spec: {managementState: "Removed"}'
+}
 
 # We are going to apply the 'node.openshift.io/platform-type=vsphere' label to all existing nodes as a workaround while waiting for upstream CCM changes
 # When upstream changes are merged downstream, the function will output that no nodes were updated.
@@ -141,9 +155,9 @@ done
 
 # Update CSI driver to be removed.  Note, sometimes this can take a little while to start removing pods, but only on first attempt.
 # For now, we'll update and move on.  It should be resolved by the time the BM is ready to join.
-if [ "${CSI_MANAGEMENT_REMOVED}" == "true" ]; then
-  echo "$(date -u --rfc-3339=seconds) - Patching clustercsidriver managementState to be Removed"
-  oc patch clustercsidriver csi.vsphere.vmware.com --type=merge --patch 'spec: {managementState: "Removed"}'
+# If STORAGE_CO_DEGRADE_CHECK is true, we will patch clustercsidriver managementState later to make sure the Storage cluster operator degrades.
+if [ "${CSI_MANAGEMENT_REMOVED}" == "true" ] && [ "${STORAGE_CO_DEGRADE_CHECK}" == "false" ]; then
+  patch_csi_driver_removed
 fi
 
 # Start VM
@@ -163,5 +177,17 @@ done
 # Wait for node to be ready to prevent any interruption during the e2e tests
 wait_for_node_ready
 
+# Verifying Storage cluster operator is degraded for (OCP >=4.21) feature, STOR-2620: vSphere Bare Metal nodes support
+# Wait for Storage cluster operator to degrade
+if [ "${STORAGE_CO_DEGRADE_CHECK}" == "true" ]; then
+  wait_for_storage_co_degrade
+fi
+
+# Update CSI driver to be removed.  Note, sometimes this can take a little while to start removing pods, but only on first attempt.
+# We will patch clustercsidriver managementState now if skipped earlier.
+if [ "${CSI_MANAGEMENT_REMOVED}" == "true" ] && [ "${STORAGE_CO_DEGRADE_CHECK}" == "true" ]; then
+  patch_csi_driver_removed
+fi
+
 # Wait for all CO to be stable
 wait_for_co_ready
diff --git a/ci-operator/step-registry/ipi/install/vsphere/virt/ipi-install-vsphere-virt-ref.yaml b/ci-operator/step-registry/ipi/install/vsphere/virt/ipi-install-vsphere-virt-ref.yaml
index b73cbe105f26c..4f51165606c61 100644
--- a/ci-operator/step-registry/ipi/install/vsphere/virt/ipi-install-vsphere-virt-ref.yaml
+++ b/ci-operator/step-registry/ipi/install/vsphere/virt/ipi-install-vsphere-virt-ref.yaml
@@ -23,6 +23,10 @@ ref:
       default: "false"
       documentation: |-
         Specifies if cluster should modify the csi driver operator's management state to be "Removed".
+    - name: STORAGE_CO_DEGRADE_CHECK
+      default: "false"
+      documentation: |-
+        Specifies if storage cluster operator degrade check should be performed.
   documentation: >-
     static IP addresses are allocated and stored in $SHARED_DIR/hosts.txt
     for later use in creating an install-config.yaml with static IP address