After the Washington Commanders lost five-time Pro Bowler Brandon Scherff in free agency, the team turned to veteran Trai Turner as a replacement. However, after four games, the returns haven’t been great.
Turner, 29, missed most of training camp with a lingering quad injury. Still, head coach Ron Rivera remained confident in Turner. But, Turner struggled through the first three games. His subpar performance reached a tipping point after a disastrous first half Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys.
Turner’s struggles included whiffing on a block that led to quarterback Carson Wentz getting sacked.
Wentz has been sacked an NFL-leading 17 times this season through four games. Additionally, the run game stalled, ranking 24th in yards and 25th in yards per carry among 32 NFL teams. Ultimately, the Commanders’ coaching staff decided to bench Turner in favor of third-year reserve Saahdiq Charles.
Following Washington’s 25-10 loss, Rivera explained Turner’s benching.
“Trai isn’t quite where he needs to be yet,” Rivera said, per Pete Hailey of NBC Sports Washington. “So the decision was to go with Saahdiq.”
The Commanders couldn’t afford to pay Scherff the money he ultimately landed from the Jacksonville Jaguars. Thus, Rivera turned to a familiar face in Turner, who played under Rivera with the Carolina Panthers from 2014-2019. Turner made five straight Pro Bowls during that time.
However, he hasn’t been able to reach the same level of success over the past two seasons. Turner was traded to the Los Angeles Chargers in 2020 but was released after making nine starts. Last season, he played with the Pittsburgh Steelers on a one-year deal.
Turner is now in Washington, hobbled, and not 100% ready to start. It’s unclear what this means for the foreseeable. But, Charles seemingly made an immediate impact on the field, showing his athleticism and ability to get on the edge.
That led to the Commanders’ run game gaining some treading. Washington finished the game with a season-high 142 yards on the ground and 5.3 yards per rush — 1.6 yards more than their season average.
