Panthers Will Shop Trai Turner, Per Multiple Reports

The Pro Bowler could potentially be involved in a trade this off-season.

According to multiple reports, Panthers Pro Bowl offensive lineman Trai Turner is being shopped around for a potential trade. The twenty-six year old offensive lineman has been a Panther for his entire career since he was drafted in the third round of the 2014 NFL Draft.

Two players I’m told are being shopped around, per sources in Indy: Cordy Glenn (Bengals) and Trai Turner (Panthers). If no trade partner can be found, Glenn would be released.

— JennaLaineESPN (@JennaLaineESPN) March 2, 2020

This news is somewhat surprising, considering that the Carolina Panthers have been lacking in quality offensive line play over the past few seasons. For recent context, in 2019, the Panthers allowed a total of 58 sacks, which is second-worst in the league behind the Miami Dolphins.

However, with a loaded 2020 NFL Draft class at the offensive line, trading Turner could potentially be a smart move for the Panthers front office to make. There has been ongoing talks about the Panthers experiencing a full rebuild, so this news may not be as surprising as many fans would think. It wouldn’t be surprising for the Panthers to use the No. 7 pick on a solid offensive tackle, assuming that Turner is traded.

Per Pro Football Focus, Turner is the highest graded offensive lineman on the Panthers’ roster. If the Panthers are going to trade one of the best players on a rather abysmal offense, one would hope that contingencies are made, especially if the team wants to bring a recovering Cam Newton back for 2020. Even if Newton does not return, improving the quality of play on both sides of the line of scrimmage appears to be one of the biggest priorities of the off-season, so this move seems questionable on a surface level.

However, general manager Marty Hurney may have a trick up his sleeve that we simply don’t know about yet. No official moves have been made yet, but with many questions surrounding the future of this franchise this off-season, this has been an intriguing (or concerning, depending on how one looks at it) development to pay attention to.