(Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
The Steelers announced this afternoon that they've released Pro Bowl guard David DeCastro after nine seasons. According to Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network, DeCastro has been having his ankle evaluated recently. DeCastro reportedly has had issues with his ankle for quite some time and had surgery on it before last season. Garafolo notes that DeCastro is evaluating his future.
Following the news that DeCastro was released by the Steelers, Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network reported that the Steelers are having talks with five-time Pro Bowl guard Trai Turner., but there's no deal yet. Turner visited with the Steelers last week.
Turner said recently on SiriusXM NFL Radio that he expects to “make a splash sooner than later.”
Turner also said he wants to sign with a team that puts him “in the best situation possible to go out and win” and that he’s been working out with Hall of Famer Jackie Slater to get back to full strength after being hampered by a groin injury last season.
“I’m back at 100 percent,” Turner said. “Last year was a rough season for me with injuries and just overall COVID. You go through things and situations arise, but you work through it and you get through it. So, I’m feeling good. I’m just ready to come back and have a phenomenal season.”
Turner is just 28 and was a third-round pick by the Panthers in 2014. Turner has 89 career starts under his belt and made the Pro Bowl every season from 2015-2019.
Turner was released by the Chargers in March after just one year with the team, as he missed seven games and had a big cap hit, so Los Angeles released him to free up more than $11 million in cap space.
Turner started nine games at right guard last year for the Chargers, but he missed seven games, including six as a result of a groin injury.
Turner has had injury issues throughout his career, failing to play a full 16 games since 2016, but he was really hampered by the groin injury last year and it affected his play significantly. According to Pro Football Focus, Turner finished 79th out of a possible 80 guards in 2020. He's also regressed in his PFF grade every year since 2017, falling from 73.8 to 67.9 to 63.9 to 34.8.
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