Former LSU guard Trai Turner signs one-year deal with New Orleans Saints

Former LSU offensive lineman Trai Turner is returning to the Bayou State after signing a one-year deal on Tuesday with the New Orleans Saints, according to Adam Schefter. A New Orleans native, Turner now gets to return home to play his 10th year in the league.

Fresh off of a season with the Commanders, the Pro Bowl guard was playing on a one-year deal for $3 million in Washington. Contract figures for his new deal are not yet public. He started 12 of the 16 games for Ron Rivera and the Commanders last season.

Turner first arrived in the NFL as a third-round pick in the 2014 NFL Draft for the Carolina Panthers out of LSU. He spent six seasons in Carolina, earning Pro Bowl appearances in each of his final five years there.

Following the 2019 season, Turner spent one year with the Los Angeles Chargers. In 2021, Turner played for the Pittsburgh Steelers. With the Steelers, he was able to stay healthy after battling injuries early in his career. He played in all 17 games in the 2021 regular season, plus Pittsburgh’s lone playoff game.

Turner played in 16 games just twice in his six-year stint with the Panthers. He then appeared in nine games in 2020 with the Chargers.

The offensive lineman’s new deal comes just in time. The Saints begin training camp with a 9 a.m. practice on Friday.

Biggest question facing Saints in 2023

Ahead of the start of NFL training camp, ESPN broke down the biggest question facing each team this season.

For the Saints, the biggest question is about one of the team’s biggest stars, wide receiver Michael Thomas. Thomas is coming off of a toe injury – how long will it take for him to look like his old self again?

“Thomas has played 10 games since his record-setting 2019 season, but his chemistry with quarterback Derek Carr and eagerness to return to the field after toe surgery is promising,” ESPN’s Katherine Terrell writes. “Carr and Thomas are saying all the right things at the moment, and Thomas has pledged to be “100%” on the opening day of training camp. But after so many missteps, there will have to be results if Thomas and the Saints are going to be anywhere near the offense they were in 2019.”