The Carolina Panthers news regarding the trade Pro Bowl guard Trai Turner to the Los Angeles Chargers was listed as one of the NFL’s worst offseason moves.
Trading away one of your best players is never going to go down well. The Carolina Panthers news surrounding Pro Bowl guard Trai Turner was met with dismay by sections of the team’s fanbase.
The talented offensive lineman was shipped to the Los Angeles Chargers in a move that brought experienced left tackle Russell Okung to Carolina. Turner was one of the bright spots in an otherwise dismal performance upfront by the Panthers in 2019 and moving him on seemed like an odd decision in the circumstances.
Whether the player was happy being on a franchise going through a rebuild is another matter that could have eventually led to the trade. Okung is heading into the final year of his deal and is set to make $13 million in 2020. How he plays on a revamped line will go a long way to determining whether his stay with the Panthers is going to be anything more than a short-term arrangement.
Like many others, Alex Ballentine of The Bleacher Report was not a fan of the move. He ranked it No. 5 in his top-nine worst moves of the offseason, which saw the Houston Texans trading All-Pro wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins ranked number one.
Ballentine wrote this when discussing the move.
"In most trades, you can infer what each team is doing. A rebuilding franchise might be dumping a talented veteran to get cap flexibility and a lottery-ticket draft pick. An unhappy superstar might be on the way out because he was going to be a bigger problem than he was worth. It’s hard to find the Panthers’ rationale in sending away Trai Turner for Russell Okung. The only logical answer is Turner’s contract takes him into 2021, while Okung’s is done after this season. But if you’re trading Turner for salary reasons, an aging tackle doesn’t seem like good compensation. Surely a team would have been willing to part with a draft pick to acquire a high-level offensive lineman."
It is no secret that the Panthers are up against it financially in 2020. This is down to their astronomical dead cap figure which currently stands at $49.1 million. Turner was a sacrificial lamb to alleviate concerns down the line. But it remains to be seen whether this is going to benefit matters on the field.
What comes next for the Panthers after Turner trade?
It has been a busy offseason with little good Carolina Panthers news to report. This is something that is expected of a rebuild. But trading arguably their best offensive lineman for a veteran past the peak of his powers seems no less strange now than it did at the time.
Okung will solidify the blind side of new quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, at least in the short-term. The Panthers also brought in John Miller and Michael Schofield to occupy the guard positions in 2020. They are experienced veterans who are highly thought of by Carolina’s coaching staff.
More from Cat Crave
- Ranking the top-five QB prospects the Panthers could draft in 2023
- 4 remaining Carolina Panthers cap crunches after Damien Wilson release
- Could Duce Staley help Carolina Panthers land Jamaal Williams in 2023?
- How much could the Carolina Panthers afford to offer Lamar Jackson?
- 4 Panthers rumors to emerge from 2023 NFL Scouting Combine
Much is also expected of Taylor Moton at right tackle with more starting time. These fresh faces need to gel quickly in order to give them the best possible chance of succeeding. Something that is easier said than done with the current social distancing measures relating to Covid-19 preventing face-to-face team activities.
The trade will at least give the Panthers some financial wiggle room in 2021 if Okung doesn’t perform to the level expected. This would allow them to go after some of the more elite free agents rather than just settling for the bargain basement players they have gone for this offseason.
Given their expected struggles in 2020, there could be some good Panthers news in the form of a high-end draft pick that they might also allocate to the offensive line if Bridgewater performs to the level he is capable of. Someone like Oregan tackle Penei Sewell has All-Pro potential and would provide a solid bookend for the next decade.
There is a lot of football to be played between now and then. But there is no question Turner’s presence is going to be sorely missed in Carolina during a period of transition.