(Photo by Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images)
According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the Steelers have agreed to terms with five-time Pro-Bowl guard Trai Turner on a one-year deal, per his agent Drew Rosenhaus. The news comes three-and-half hours after the Steelers announced that they've released veteran Pro Bowl guard David DeCastro.
Turner visited with the Steelers last week and there was some speculation that something was up with DeCastro being that he missed all of minicamp with an ankle injury.
According to Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network, DeCastro reportedly has had issues with his ankle for quite some time and had surgery on it before last season. Garafolo notes that DeCastro is evaluating his future.
Per Overthecap.com, the Steelers save $8.75 million in cap space by releasing DeCastro and have $5.54 million in dead money. The Steelers are now estimated to have around $15 million in cap space with the Turner signing.
Turner said recently on SiriusXM NFL Radio that he expects to “make a splash sooner than later.”
Turner also said he wants to sign with a team that puts him “in the best situation possible to go out and win” and that he’s been working out with Hall of Famer Jackie Slater to get back to full strength after being hampered by a groin injury last season.
"I’m back at 100 percent,” Turner said. “Last year was a rough season for me with injuries and just overall COVID. You go through things and situations arise, but you work through it and you get through it. So, I’m feeling good. I’m just ready to come back and have a phenomenal season.”
Turner was released by the Chargers in March after just one year with the team, as he missed seven games and had a big cap hit, so Los Angeles released him to free up more than $11 million in cap space.
Turner started nine games at right guard last year for the Chargers, but he missed seven games, including six as a result of a groin injury.
Turner has had injury issues throughout his career, failing to play a full 16 games since 2016, but he was really hampered by the groin injury last year and it affected his play significantly. According to Pro Football Focus, Turner finished 79th out of a possible 80 guards in 2020. He's also regressed in his PFF grade every year since 2017, falling from 73.8 to 67.9 to 63.9 to 34.8.
Turner is just 28 and was a third-round pick by the Panthers in 2014. Turner has 89 career starts under his belt and made the Pro Bowl every season from 2015-2019.