The Saints have decided not to commit to Payton Turner past the 2024 season, as anticipated. The fifth-year option of the defensive lineman has been refused by the Saints, according to Ari Meirov of The 33rd Team.
The deadline to exercise the first-round 2021 first-round choices’ fifth-year option was this Thursday. Turner would have been obligated to pay $13.39 million for the 2025 campaign as a result of that pledge. The defensive lineman will instead become a free agent after the 2024 campaign.
Turner’s time in New Orleans has clearly not gone as planned; over the course of three seasons, the Houston product has only been able to play in 15 games. Due to a shoulder ailment that kept him from playing in only five games as a rookie, he was able to return to health for the most of his sophomore season.
Turner was in and out of the starting lineup that season, but he still managed to end with 16 tackles and two sacks in eight games.
The defensive lineman injured his turf toe in Week 1 of the previous season, forcing him to go on injured reserve. He didn’t play in the NFL again until January, and he concluded his third season with just two games played.
Turner won’t have an easy route to playing time in 2024 because the Saints have longtime defensive end Cameron Jordan and free agency acquisition Chase Young together.
The Saints may try to use their $2.3 million cap space to save money and let the former first-round pick to pursue a different opportunity.
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