Commanders Sign 5x Pro Bowl Guard Trai Turner; New Offensive Line Depth Chart?

The five-time Pro Bowler played for Ron Rivera in Carolina from 2014-19.

Jeremy Brener | May 2, 2022

The Washington Commanders upgraded their offensive line Monday, signing five-time Pro Bowl guard Trai Turner.

Trai Turner

Ron Rivera

Turner, who turns 29 next month, will play for his fourth team in four years after signing with Washington. He played with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2021 and the Los Angeles Chargers in 2020 after six seasons with the Carolina Panthers.

The Panthers were led by current Commanders head coach Ron Rivera during Turner's tenure in Carolina. While with the Panthers, Turner made the Pro Bowl every year from 2015-19. Now, he brings his Pro Bowl pedigree to the nation's capital.

The Commanders had a need on the offensive line after Brandon Scherff and Ereck Flowers departed in free agency. While the team signed Andrew Norwell from the Jacksonville Jaguars, the team didn't do much else to add to the unit. The team waited until the seventh round to draft an offensive lineman, using the 230th pick to select Tulsa offensive lineman Chris Paul.

With Turner in the fold, it allows second-year pro Sam Cosmi to stay at right tackle. Charles Leno Jr. is expected to stay at left tackle, while Chase Roullier holds the fort at center.

Andrew Norwell

Sam Cosmi

Wes Schweitzer

For the guards, Norwell is expected to slot in at left guard, while Turner has the opportunity to win the job at right guard over veteran Wes Schweitzer.

Schweitzer made 11 appearances in 2021, starting four games at right guard for Scherff while he was injured and one at center for Tyler Larsen, who projects to be the backup center behind Roullier in 2022.

Depth Chart

LT: Charles Leno Jr., Saahdiq Charles

LG: Andrew Norwell, Beau Benzschawel

C: Chase Roullier, Tyler Larsen

RG: Trai Turner, Wes Schweitzer

RT: Sam Cosmi, Cornelius Lucas

Published May 2, 2022

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.