The Pittsburgh Steelers thought they found David DeCastro’s replacement in Trai Turner, but here’s why the offensive guard may not be as good as advertised.
After having perhaps more continuity than any other team on the offensive line over the past several years, the Pittsburgh Steelers have gone through an absurd amount of turnover in the trenches this offseason. After losing four starters from the 2020 season, the team looks to revamp their offensive line with some new faces.
The most notable face among them is former 5-time Pro Bowl offensive guard, Trai Turner. The former Panthers star was magnificent in his first 6 seasons with the Carolina Panthers, but after suffering through injuries since 2017, his play took a drastic dive last season, as he graded out among the worst offensive linemen in the NFL through 9 games.
The Steelers were obviously hoping for the pre-injury Turner when they signed him to a one-year deal after David DeCastro’s release. However, fans who are hoping that Turner is going to be an upgrade over DeCastro at right guard may not want to hold their breath. According to Steelers insider Mark Kaboly, camp returns on turner are not great. Andrew Fillipponi of 93.7 The Fan reiterated this on Twitter.
What does this mean for Steelers?
This, of course, is just one report, but it doesn’t sound promising. If you studied Trai Turner’s tape at all from last season, you can understand where Kaboly is coming from.
Despite a terrific start to his NFL career, injuries seem to have taken a toll on Turner over the past four years, and he has never played more than 13 games in a season over that span. His play fell to an all-time low last season, as Turner really struggled with his foot quickness and mobility. As a result, had a very difficult time keeping defenders in front of him.
Though Turner could be healthier now, it’s not a good sign that he has apparently looked ‘not great’ early in training camp. Considering that Turner only has a $3 million cap number, according to Over the Cap, teams (including the Steelers) clearly didn’t view him as a high-end starting player. In fact, this is just over what backup offensive tackle Joe Haeg received from the Steelers in terms of yearly value.
Obviously, we were hoping to hear better news regarding Trai Turner at this time, as he’s expected to be a factor for Pittsburgh on the offensive line. Fortunately, there is still hope. Turner is fresh off an injury, and we are still very early into training camp. With more time to condition, it’s possible that he could return to become the Pro Bowl-caliber player we saw before the injuries. After all, he turned just 28 years old in June.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are going to need all the help they can get from their offensive line, and we really hope that Trai Turner can be a bright spot this year. Keep an eye on him throughout training camp.