Brad Holmes
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The Lions have signed a former Saints first round pick.
Looking to bolster their edge rush, the Detroit Lions have once again sought outside help and have brought in another new face.
On Friday afternoon, it was announced that the Lions have signed edge defender Payton Turner, who was a 2021 first-round (28th) overall selection of the New Orleans Saints out of Houston.
He’s the most recent new face for the Lions, who have also added the likes of defensive end D.J. Wonnum, linebacker Damone Clark, and wide receiver Greg Dortch
Turner missed all of last season with the Dallas Cowboys because of a rib injury; he’d signed with Dallas during the offseason after spending the first portion of his career with the Saints. Placed on Injured Reserve in August, he didn’t suit up once for the Cowboys.
While Turner has upside, perhaps the biggest area of concern for him is his durability. Over the last five seasons, he’s appeared in a total of just 31 games, having been placed on Injured Reserve multiple times.
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The Detroit Lions Have Signed Payton Turner, A Former First Round Pick Of The Saints
Turner originally hails from Houston and attended Westside High School before attending college locally at the University of Houston, where he began making a name for himself.
During his time at Houston, he would earn second-team All-American Athletic Conference honors and would later play in the 2021 Senior Bowl. In his four seasons, he amassed a total of 10 sacks.
He would go on to play 31 career games with the Saints, registering 5.0 sacks, 11 tackles for loss, and 11 quarterback hits.
His top season was in 2024, his most recent active campaign. During that time, he recorded 21 tackles and a pair of sacks.
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The Detroit Lions Have Lost Multiple Edge Defenders So Far In The Offseason
Lions GM Brad Holmes had his work cut out for him during the offseason, as the club lost multiple edge defenders, starting with Al-Quadin Muhammad. After amassing an impressive 11 sacks in 2025, which was a new career-high, he wasn’t offered a new contract and instead chose to sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, joining another former Lion in Alex Anzalone.
Josh Paschal was released, while Tyrus Wheat signed with the Dallas Cowboys. Meanwhile, Marcus Davenport remains unsigned.
After missing the NFL postseason, Holmes indicated that the team isn’t satisfied with where they finished and that, for the standard that they’d set over the previous two seasons, it wasn’t good enough.
“Bottom line, for our standards, this was a disappointment,” Holmes said shortly after Detroit’s season finished with a 9-8 record. “When we set out for this journey, and for this season, it wasn’t to match last year’s record or exceed last year’s record. Doesn’t really matter what the record is. Bottom line is if we’re not in the dance and we’re not competing for a championship, it’s a failure.”
He also made a special note of saying that they were looking to replenish the edge rush position to help complement Pro Bowler Aidan Hutchinson.
“We’re definitely going to have to look and replenish opposite of Hutch,” Holmes said. “For sure.”