Commanders bench Trai Turner after first half nightmare vs Cowboys

The Washington Commanders were always expected to let Brandon Scherff leave in free agency. With a new quarterback at the top of the team’s shopping list, the front office couldn’t afford to make Scherff the highest-paid guard in football, which he became with the Jaguars before Quenton Nelson’s extension.

The Commanders signed Trai Turner to fill the void at right guard and the veteran has been a disaster through four games. Turner missed nearly all of training camp with a quad injury and Ron Rivera insisted that Turner didn’t need a full camp because of his familiarity with Washington’s scheme (Turner played under Rivera and Scott Turner in Carolina).

Through three-plus games, Turner’s urgency is indicative of a veteran showing up for the first practice of voluntary OTAs.

In the first half of Sunday’s game vs the Cowboys, Rivera and Co. decided they had enough with Turner’s sloppiness. After a false start penalty, Turner blew an assignment that allowed Nevill Gallimore a free run at Carson Wentz.

Turner was replaced by Saahdiq Charles on the next drive.

The Commanders benched right guard Trai Turner in the first half against the Cowboys.

Here’s a replay of Turner’s blown assignment.

Does it get any worse than that from an offensive linemen? Center Nick Martin wisely shifted over to block blitzer Leighton Vander Esch. By the time Turner realized Gallimore was his assignment, the D-tackle was draped all over Wentz.

It’s unclear if Turner suffered an injury. If the decision to pull the former Pro Bowler was based on performance, then credit to the coaching staff.

The decision paid immediate dividends, too, as Charles laid a gorgeous open field block that allowed Antonio Gibson to scamper for a first down on a screen play. Later in the drive, Carson Wentz found Jahan Dotson in the end zone to put Washington in front 7-6 in the second quarter.

At the end of the day, Turner doesn’t deserve to be anywhere near the field. He’s been a turnstile and the offense looks markedly better without him.