Chargers release G Trai Turner
Unable to find a trade partner, the Los Angeles Chargers released five-time Pro Bowl right guard Trai Turner on Friday.
Turner, 27, was a third-round draft pick by Carolina in the 2014 NFL Draft and was a Pro Bowl selection from 2015-19. The Panthers traded him to the Chargers last March for tackle Russell Okung.
Turner was entering the final year of a four-year, $45 million contract extension he signed with Carolina in July 2017, and releasing him will save the Chargers about $11.5 million in salary cap money.
In his only season in Los Angeles, knee and groin injuries limited Turner to only nine games. With the Panthers, he appeared in 16 games twice and 13 games in each of his other four seasons.
The Chargers also released linebacker Malik Jefferson, who made five tackles on special teams in 13 games with the team in 2020. He finished the 2019 season on the Los Angeles practice squad.
Jefferson, 24, has played in 34 games over the past three seasons, including stints with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2018 and Cleveland Browns in 2019.
–Field Level Media