Here at Cat Scratch Reader we have counted down the final 100 days leading up to the Carolina Panthers season opener by for at least the past ten years. We’ve always done this by highlighting the current player on the roster whose jersey number matches the day on the countdown. This year, we decided to change that up a bit by counting down our own list of the Top 100 Panthers of all time. This does not correspond to jersey number, does not need to be somebody who wore a jersey, and will in no way be controversial.
#28. Trai Turner
One of the best things you can have as a football team is a stalwart offensive lineman that is very good for his position and generally stays healthy. The Carolina Panthers had that in the mid to late 2010s with Trai Turner at right guard.
Turner had a rapid ascent from 3 star recruit coming out of high school to NFL Draft prospect after his redshirt sophomore year at LSU. The Panthers selected Turner in the third round of the 2014 NFL Draft, and it didn’t take long for him to make that look like an incredible decision. He earned the starting right guard spot during his rookie season, and he would not relinquish that spot for the entirety of his career in Carolina.
Turner would establish himself as one of the league’s best interior linemen during that rookie season. He played five more years in Carolina, never missing more than three games and making the Pro Bowl every single season. He was elite both as a pass protector and a run blocker and helped some offenses with Cam Newton and underwhelming skill position support find their way to success.
Despite the accolades, the Panthers traded the then 26 year old Turner for 31 year old offensive tackle Russell Okung, presumably to get out from under the massive (for a guard at the time) contract that Turner had recently been given by since departed GM Dave Gettleman. It proved to be a prescient move. Turner played just nine games for the Chargers before getting released after one season. He spent one season each with the Steelers and Commanders after that before a torn quad in camp with the Saints effectively ended his career.
Turner was never the best guard in the NFL, but he was always near the top of the list and was a household name in some respects, which isn’t common for a guard. He was a steady presence on the offensive line for several years, and that hasn’t been a common occurrence for the Panthers throughout their history. For that, he lands at number 28 on the list of top 100 Panthers of all time.