March 20, 2026, 3:35 p.m. CT
Former New Orleans Saints first-round pick Payton Turner has signed with the Detroit Lions, the team announced Friday. Turner, 27, joined the Dallas Cowboys last year but missed the entire campaign with a preseason rib injury.
Injuries sidelined him for much of his tenure in New Orleans, too; Turner was limited to just 31 games in four years, having missed more than half of the 68 games he could have dressed out for (37). All told, he tallied up five sacks and 11 tackles for loss without starting a single game.
So good luck to him in Detroit as Turner tries to salvage his pro career. He was a surprise pick in the 2021 draft out of Houston, and never was able to find his way with the Saints. That each of the three defensive ends picked immediately after him have gone on to find NFL success just made the miss sting worse — Greg Rousseau has had 32 sacks in 78 games with the Buffalo Bills, while both Odafe Oweh (30.5 sacks in 79 games) and Joe Tryon-Shoyinka (15 sacks in 62 games) have made more plays than Turner. It’s quickly approaching “now or never” territory for the ex-Saints draft pick.
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