Don’t look for Payton Turner to get on the field Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The New Orleans Saints announced Saturday evening that they were downgrading Turner’s status and ruling him out for Week 17’s matchup; the third-year defensive end recently returned to practice and has one more week left to earn a green light to suit up for a game. He was listed as questionable on the injury report before being ruled out, with head coach Dennis Allen expressing pessimism about his status on Friday.
Coincidentally, the Saints have just one game left in the 2023 regular season next week against the Atlanta Falcons. So it’s looking like, if anything, Turner will end up playing the season opener and the season finale for New Orleans.
It’s been a really tough year for him. Turner didn’t miss a single day of practice throughout the summer and at training camp, playing as many snaps as his coaches would give him in three preseason games. But his cleat caught in the turf at the Caesars Superdome while he was rushing the quarterback to force an incomplete pass back in Week 1, dislocating two toes and forcing him to undergo surgery and a lengthy rehab.
Now, his hopes rely on the Saints beating the Bucs without him so he can return and help their long-shot playoff bid in Week 18. The Saints must decide whether to pick up his fifth-year option for 2025 in the spring of 2024, but there hasn’t been enough production from Turner through his first three years to make that a very difficult decision for the front office. Hopefully he can play well once he’s healthy and turn his career around.
