Steelers Officially Sign Free Agent Guard Trai Turner Agree to One-Year Contract

The Steelers have signed free agent guard Trai Turner to a one-year contract, the team announced on Friday.

Terms of the contract were not announced. Turner made a free agent visit to the Steelers’ facility last Friday. The signing was first reported on Thursday by ESPN.

Turner, 28, will be expected to step into the starting lineup in Pittsburgh, replacing 10-year veteran David DeCastro, who was released with a non-football injury designation on Thursday.

He was released by the Los Angeles Chargers in March in a salary cap-related move. Turner started nine games for L.A. in 2020.

Originally a third-round pick of the Carolina Panthers out of LSU in 2014, Turner was a five-time Pro Bowler for the Panthers from 2014-19. He started 13 or more games in his final five seasons in Carolina and signed a four-contract extension in 2017 worth a guaranteed $20.5 million.

But the Panthers traded Turner to Los Angeles after three seasons in exchange for tackle Russell Okung last March. The Chargers released Turner without a dead cap hit, saving L.A. more than $11 million.

Turner will join a completely revamped Steelers offensive line, with new starters expected at all five positions and a new coach in Adrian Klemm.