Trai Turner emerges as respected, sage leader of young Steelers offensive line
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Is 28 considered old? It’s all relative in life, and perhaps nowhere more than among the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offensive line. In the context of that inexperienced group, 28-year-old Trai Turner is a veritable pied piper of sage knowledge and insight.
“We were all laughing because we were sitting on the bench and he started talking, and everybody kind of gathered around him,” rookie Dan Moore Jr. said last week of Turner. “Somebody made a joke, ‘Any time Trai is talking, everybody kind of gathers around.’
“He’s kind of like the old man of our room: always preaching wisdom, always coaching up the young guys. He has a huge presence in the offensive line room.”
As an eight-year veteran who entered the season with more than four times as many career NFL starts (89) as the entire rest of the Steelers’ starting line combined (21), it was only natural Turner would be thrust into a role as a leader.
But Turner’s status isn’t merely a function of age or experience. Listen to the man for a few minutes, and if you didn’t know who was talking you might think he was a member of the Steelers’ coaching staff and not their starting right guard. The two rookies and one first-year starter who play alongside him aren’t just paying lip service when they say they listen and look up to Turner.
“The older you get, I think you start to understand the game a little bit better and understand what you need to do to best succeed when you play different opponents,” Turner said. “I think I’m just at that point where things are starting to slow down for me a little bit. I am 28 and in my eighth year, so I’ve seen a lot.”
Turner has seen his name announced as a Pro Bowler five times, and he’s played for three teams. Signed to a one-year, $3 million contract in June to replace longtime starter David DeCastro, Turner has provided the steadying influence coach Mike Tomlin sought from him.
Turner arguably has been the Steelers’ best offensive lineman. The NFL’s official play-by-play statistics calculate the Steelers have a better per-carry rushing average (4.43 yards) on plays off right guard than off those labeled off any other offensive line position (aggregate 2.97 yards per carry).
Pro Football Focus grades Turner as the Steelers’ best offensive lineman, their best in run blocking and second-best (to left guard Kevin Dotson) in pass protection.
“Obviously, he’s got the most experience (on the offensive line) for us,” offensive coordinator Matt Canada said, “so we count on him to be the guy to kind of calm the storms when things happen and be sound and be right all the time. A guy with that experience … we are happy he is there.”
Turner has been instrumental in organizing impromptu, informal post-practice gatherings of the starting offensive linemen. It’s common that the group stays on the field after the vast majority of their teammates and coaches have retreated to the locker room. Sometimes, they’re just discussing strategy or technique, other times they’ll drill quick fundamentals.
“Something that I didn’t understand when I first got into the league that older coaches would (emphasize) was how we didn’t have much time,” Turner said. “And I never understood that (as a young player) — ‘We have a lot of time. We’ve been doing a lot of work!’ But the older you get, you understand to be so detailed and to have everybody on (the same) page — five different guys thinking one thing at all times, whether it be 55, 60, 70, 75 plays — it’s not something that’s easy. It’s something that does take time, something that takes jelling and continuity.
“And we’re still in that process. The perfect game is still out there. We still haven’t played the perfect game — so we are still searching for the perfect game, and as long as we are searching for those perfect games through December, January and February, we will be good to go.”
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