Payton Turner – Page 3 – Syndication Server

Saints waive fullback Adam Prentice days after activating him from injured reserve

Well that’s odd. The New Orleans Saints waived fullback Adam Prentice just days after they activated him from injured reserve, burning one of the eight slots teams are allowed to use in season in designated players to return from an injury.

Prentice was active for Sunday’s loss to the Minnesota Vikings, though he played just one snap on offense and a dozen on special teams with the kick return and punt coverage units. He’ll likely re-sign with the practice squad after being let go, but stay tuned. He was waived from the 53-man roster to open a spot for wide receiver Keith Kirkwood.

It’s frustrating to burn one of those eight return slots on a player who was waived just days later, but it’s not that big of a deal given the Saints’ current circumstances. The only player on injured reserve right now who is even eligible to return is defensive end Payton Turner, who is still weeks away from being able to practice.

And with just seven weeks left in the regular season, the window for players to go on injured reserve, sit out four weeks while recovering, and then open a three-week phase in which to practice and be activated is shrinking.

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Saints hosted free agent pass rusher Jason Pierre-Paul for a workout

The New Orleans Saints hosted free agent pass rusher Jason Pierre-Paul for a workout, looking to add juice to their defensive front:

Well this is interesting: the New Orleans Saints hosted free agent pass rusher Jason Pierre-Paul for a workout at the team facility on Monday, per the daily NFL transactions wire. Pierre-Paul, 34, recently expressed interest in signing up with a playoff contender — and the Saints, who go on into their bye week on top of the NFC South standings, match that description.

Pierre-Paul fits the athletic prototype the Saints value at defensive end, weighing in at 6-foot-5 and 275 pounds, and he brings some proven production. He generated 22 quarterback pressures in a part-time role last year with the Baltimore Ravens after posting totals of 29, 65, 44, and 46 in four years with the division-rival Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

He would likely be playing behind Cameron Jordan and Carl Granderson in New Orleans (and maybe Tanoh Kpassagnon, too) but both of the young edge rushers the Saints have drafted in recent years are currently sidelined with injuries. It’s worth adding Pierre-Paul to the mix at least until Isaiah Foskey and Payton Turner can return to the field, and maybe longer if they can’t outplay him. We’ll have to wait and see if the Saints can reach an agreement with Pierre-Paul, but there’s clearly interest.

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Reports: Saints rookie Isaiah Foskey dealing with quad strain injury

Reports: Saints rookie Isaiah Foskey dealing with quad strain injury, likely to miss Vikings game and return after Week 11 bye

This is a bummer. New Orleans Saints rookie defensive end Isaiah Foskey suffered a quadriceps muscle injury early in Sunday’s win over the Chicago Bears, per multiple reports. NewOrleans.Football’s Brooke Kirchhofer shares that the Saints believe Foskey pulled a quad muscle on the game’s opening kickoff. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler adds that it is a “low-grade quad strain” that could sideline Foskey for the Saints’ upcoming road game with the Minnesota Vikings, but he should be back after the following bye week.

He tried to play through it, but Foskey left the game after Paulson Adebo’s interception midway through the first quarter. The Saints initially said that he was questionable to return before later ruling out an in-game return.

Foskey has been coming on well in recent weeks while competing for snaps behind Cameron Jordan and Carl Granderson, so any time missed is going to hinder his development. The good news is that his return could coincide with Payton Turner’s possible activation from injured reserve.

Turner suffered a turf toe injury in the season-opener back in September and is expected to return as soon as Weeks 12 or 13, after the bye week. So the Saints could be adding Foskey (the No. 40 overall pick in this year’s draft) and Turner (the No. 28 pick in the 2021 draft) back to the defensive ends rotation for the back half of the season. That should be welcome news for a Saints pass rush unit that’s tied for the fourth-fewest sacks (17) in the league after nine games.

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5 Moneyball trades Kwesi Adofo-Mensah can make

These players are ones that Kwesi Adofo-Mensah could be willing to trade for with a Moneyball approach

The trade deadline is coming up and the Minnesota Vikings have likely made themselves buyers with a 22-17 win over the San Francisco 49ers on Monday night.

It’s quite simple for the Vikings. They have played really well against quality opponents all season, but haven’t been able to finish the job. Why haven’t they been able to finish games? Lack of discipline, mainly with ball control.

The Vikings have turned it over 14 times this season while forcing just nine themselves with six of them coming in their last two games and seven of them forced in their three wins.

They are currently just 0.5 games out of a wild card spot and two games out of the NFC North division lead with five of their six division games still left to play.

Earlier this week, I explored players that the Vikings could target that could help the team immediately and in the future. Most of those were established players that would cost significant draft capital

However, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has shown a willingness to gamble on talent and upside with the use of a Moneyball approach. He did so with Jalen Reagor and Ross Blacklock. I identified five players the Vikings could target to use the same philosophy.

Too many Mickey Loomis gambles have come back to burn the Saints

Too many Mickey Loomis gambles have come back to burn the Saints. The Saints GM has wasted a lot of valuable draft picks on players who haven’t helped the team:

There aren’t many general managers around the NFL with job security like Mickey Loomis, and it’s easy to see why. The franchise’s valuation has skyrocketed under his watch. Hired to the post way back in 2003, he helped raise the New Orleans Saints’ valuation from the $70 million that Tom Benson paid to buy the team in 1985 (which would be about $92 million today, due to inflation) to the $4 billion figure boasted around today. Loomis will be on staff as long as he wants to be, and he’s currently the longest-tenured general manager in the league.

But too many of his recent gambles have come back to burn the team. Not just the bad decision to promote Dennis Allen to head coach over better-qualified candidates like Doug Pederson, this week’s opponent with the Jacksonville Jaguars — but in the draft, too. There isn’t a more important even for acquiring young talent and sustaining long-term success than the annual NFL draft, and Loomis has played too fast and loose with the team’s draft picks.

Here’s what it’s cost them to add first-round players who aren’t helping the team like left tackle Trevor Penning (benched), defensive end Payton Turner (on injured reserve for the second time in three years), and defensive end Marcus Davenport (who left the team in free agency after an injury-plagued five-year career):

Saints announce 9 roster moves ahead of Week 2 Panthers game

The Saints announced nine roster moves ahead of Week 2’s Panthers game, sidelining two players with injuries and adding four new faces to the practice squad:

The New Orleans Saints announced eight roster moves ahead of Week 2’s Panthers game, sidelining two players with injuries and adding four new faces to the practice squad. We knew some of these changes were coming but now we have a better idea of the state of the depth chart. Here’s what you need to know about each move:

Saints promote practice squad DE Kyle Phillips to their 53-man roster

The Saints made a move to account for Payton Turner’s injury, promoting practice squad DE Kyle Phillips to their 53-man roster. It doesn’t bode well for Isaiah Foskey:

The New Orleans Saints made a couple of moves to account for Payton Turner’s injury including the promotion of practice squad defensive end Kyle Phillips to their 53-man roster, per NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill. They also reportedly signed veteran free agent Terrell Lewis to take Phillips’ spot on the practice squad.

It doesn’t bode well for Isaiah Foskey, the team’s rookie second-round pick out of Notre Dame. The young defensive end progressed each week in preseason but was still playing behind more-experienced teammates, and he was a healthy scratch in Week 1’s win over the Tennessee Titans (along with most of the team’s draft class). Foskey may still be a ways off from being thrown into a game even in a reserve role behind Cameron Jordan, Carl Granderson, and Tanoh Kpassagnon.

As for Phillips: the 6-foot-4, 277 pounder has appeared in 29 games in his pro career and memorably helped seal a win for the Saints in their first preseason game with a very clutch interception against the Kansas City Chiefs. But he continued to make plays in run defense while generating a couple of pressures throughout the exhibition series, so they must feel he’s a better option to roster than Niko Lalos, who remains on the practice squad with the recently-signed Lewis.

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Report: Saints sign former Rams draft pick DE Terrell Lewis to their practice squad

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports the Saints are signing former Rams draft pick Terrell Lewis to their practice squad, adding depth at defensive end:

The New Orleans Saints are going to be without Payton Turner for a while, and the team is already making moves to account for his absence. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports the Saints are signing former Los Angeles Rams third-round draft pick Terrell Lewis to their practice squad, adding depth at defensive end.

Lewis, 25, is the exact kind of player the Saints have targeted at the position — weighing in at 6-foot-5 and 262 pounds coming out of Alabama, he posted some impressive numbers in pre-draft workouts a few years ago. He appeared in 31 games with the Rams (including the playoffs) collecting 6 sacks, 40 tackles (8 tackles for loss), an interception, and 3 passes defensed, plus a forced fumble.

The Rams waived Lewis late in the 2022 season and he was picked up by the Chicago Bears, but they waived him during final roster cuts this summer. With Turner out of action and veteran backup Kyle Phillips being promoted to the 53-man roster in his place, Lewis joins Niko Lalos on the Saints practice squad.

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Report: Saints fear Payton Turner will require surgery after turf toe injury

This is tough. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports that the New Orleans Saints believe third-year defensive end Payton Turner suffered a turf toe injury on Sunday “that should require surgery,” potentially sidelining one of the more impressive players from this year’s training camp.

Turner’s right foot caught in the Caesars Superdome turf while pressuring Tennessee Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill into throwing an incomplete pass, though he was able to walk himself off the field and into the locker room for further evaluation. But this is the latest serious injury in what’s become a frustrating trend for the Saints.

Last year Trevor Penning, Deonte Harty, and Michael Thomas were just some of the players who suffered turf toe injuries on their home turf. Studies have found that artificial turf like the kind used at the Superdome (and, bizarrely, at some outdoor NFL venues) correlates with greater injury risk compared to natural grass. For all the work the Saints have done to proactively approach injury risk, continuing to play home games on a dangerous surface feels like a massive blind spot.

But let’s keep focus on Turner. Last year Penning went down in late August and needed turf toe surgery to repair damaged ligaments in his foot, and Rapoport’s reporting suggests a similar scenario for Turner. Penning wasn’t able to return until Week 12 which may be the timetable Turner could be headed for. Stay tuned for updates.

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Saints say DE Payton Turner (toe) questionable to return vs. Titans

This is brutal. New Orleans Saints Payton Turner made a great play early on against the Tennessee Titans, fighting through his blocker to pressure quarterback Ryan Tannehill into an off-target throw that fell incomplete — but his foot caught in the turf as he followed through the arc and he had to leave the game with an injury.

At least he was able to walk himself off the field and into the locker room, but it’s still a really tough break for a young player who came on strong this summer. The Saints announced that Turner was questionable to return with a toe injury. He’s missed a lot of time with ankle, calf, elbow, and chest injuries through the first two years in his career, and he appeared to be ready to get right in his third season with New Orleans. We’ll see if he’s able to return to the game.

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