Chargers Trading LT Russell Okung To Panthers For OL Trai Turner

March 4, 2020

Update:

Adam Schefter reports that Chargers’ recently acquired OL Trai Turner wants a new contract with Los Angeles when their trade with the Panthers becomes official, per ESPN’s David Newton.

The trade won’t be official until 4:00 p.m. EST on March 18, which is the start of the 2020 league year.

Cameron Wolfe reports that the Chargers have, in fact, trade LT Russell Okung to the Panthers and it’s a done deal.

Ian Rapoport confirms that the Chargers are sending Okung to the Panthers for OL Trai Turner.

A recent report mentioned that Carolina had been shopping Turner around the league in trade talks and it appears as though they settled on a deal for Okung.

Turner, 26 is a former third-round pick of the Panthers back in 2014. He was in the final year of his four-year, $2.79 million contract when he and the team agreed to a four-year, $45 million extension that includes $20.5 million guaranteed.

Turner stands to make base salaries of $5,297,000 and $8,500,000 over the final two years of the agreement.

According to Over the Cap, trading Turner will free up $3.3 million while resulting in a $9.592 million dead cap charge.

In 2019, Turner appeared in 13 games for the Panthers, making 13 starts for them at right guard. He was rated by Pro Football Focus as the No. 31 guard out of 80 qualifying players.

According to Josina Anderson, the Chargers and Panthers are discussing a potential trade for LT Russell Okung.

Okung expressed skepticism last week with the direction of the Chargers organization, so this could be a precursor to him being shipped out of Los Angeles.

Meanwhile, Okung would presumably solidify the left tackle position for Carolina, which has been a need for some time. The Panthers drafted Greg Little in the second round in 2019, but he played in only four games due to concussions and an ankle sprain.

Carolina also hired Okung’s former OL coach, Pat Meyer, this offseason.

Okung has one year left on his deal with a base salary of $13 million. Despite missing a number of games in 2019, he was a key member of the Chargers’ offensive line and his absence following a pulmonary condition was severely felt.

Okung, 31, is a former first-round pick of the Seahawks back in 2010. After six years in Seattle, Okung signed a one-year, $5 million contract that included a team option with the Broncos in 2016.

Okung later signed a four-year, $53 million contract with the Chargers that included $25 million guaranteed. He stands to make a base salary of $13 million in 2020.

In 2019, Okung started six games for the Chargers at left tackle. While he did not play enough snaps to qualify, his 62.4 rating by Pro Football Focus would have rated him as the No. 55 offensive tackle out of 82 qualifying players.

We’ll have more on Okung as the news is available.