The Miami Dolphins’ offensive line woes are well documented. This team is in dire need of several upgrades along the offensive line — but there’s only so many free agents and draft picks to go around. With a clear market being carved out for free agent OT Jack Conklin and the Washington Redskins franchise tagging OG Brandon Scherff, the Dolphins options are more limited (and more expensive) than they were just a week ago.
Which is what made the potential trade for offensive guard Trai Turner so appealing. The Carolina Panthers, poised to tear down their roster in an ambitious rebuild effort that will likely mirror the one put forth by the Dolphins in 2019, had reportedly begun shopping Turner around the NFL Combine. And, before anyone knew it, a deal was agreed to — the Panthers and Chargers agreed to a player swap.
Turner, a 26-year old veteran guard who is one of the more powerful interior blockers in all of football, was flipped to Los Angeles for veteran offensive tackle Russell Okung — who missed 15 games last season and is entering the final year of his contract on the wrong side of 30.
The deal is tentatively agreed to and is expected to be processed at the start of the league year: The #Chargers are trading LT Russell Okung to the #Panthers in exchange for standout OL Trai Turner, sources say. A swap of big-time OLs. Nothing is final until it’s official.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 4, 2020
It is currently unknown whether or not the Dolphins came knocking for Turner’s services — but considering the cost of this deal, they certainly should have. Miami could have easily offered something of more value. But then again, so could many other teams, which should give pause before criticism kicks in. For all we know, this may be the first domino of an even bigger trade, much like we saw last year with the Browns and Giants turned a player for player swap of OG Kevin Zeitler and DE Olivier Vernon into a mega-deal that included WR Odell Beckham Jr.
If that’s the case, it’s much more forgivable for the Dolphins to be on the outside of this deal looking in. And so we’ll need to wait for more clarity on the exact details of this pending trade, which will be confirmed once the league calendar opens later this month.
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