Lions Stash DE Payton Turner on IR With Back Injury
Detroit's March signing lands on injured reserve before the season even starts, ending any deep-league IDP intrigue for now.
IR before Week 1 with a back injury kills any IDP value.
- Placed on IR Thursday with a back injury
- Signed with Detroit in March 2026
- Spent all of 2025 on Cowboys' IR (rib)
- 5 sacks, 50 tackles in 31 career games
- 2021 first-round pick by the Saints
The Lions made it official Thursday, placing defensive end Payton Turner on injured reserve with a back injury. It's a rough way to start a stint in Detroit for a player who only signed there back in March, and it means Turner won't be part of the equation early this season.
This isn't a new pattern for Turner. He spent all of last season (2025) on injured reserve with the Cowboys after a rib injury, so that's back-to-back years cut short before he could get on the field. Detroit signed defensive back Eric Scott to fill the open 90-man roster spot.
Turner came into the league with real pedigree, a first-round pick by the Saints in 2021. Across 31 games in New Orleans he racked up 50 tackles, five sacks, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery — solid depth production, but never the breakout the draft slot implied.
The Fantasy Fallout
For IDP purposes, Turner was already a fringe name in only the deepest of leagues, and this move erases whatever speculative appeal remained. A player fighting for snaps on a loaded Detroit front doesn't offer usable tackle or sack volume, and now he's parked on IR before Week 1. There's no upside to chase here in the short term.
If you're in a standard or even a large IDP league, Turner isn't worth a roster spot. Drop him for a defender who's actually going to play meaningful snaps. Dynasty managers with deep taxi flexibility can file him under wait-and-see, but that's a long-shot bet on a former first-rounder finally staying healthy — and the recent track record doesn't inspire much confidence.
