The Lions sign DE Payton Turner & More Free Agency Updates

Information sourced from: Pro Football Reference, RAS, PFF

Just as the weekend dawns and March Madness begins to cut its teeth, the Lions continue working the roster with a depth DE signing with high upside. Let’s dig in, see where we are on contracts and update the 53 man roster prediction!

Payton Turner - DE

While this signing is purely depth, this feels like a low risk high reward signing to me. Don’t get me wrong. At first glance he doesn’t move the needle from a statistics standpoint. There is no guarantee he makes the 53 man roster, and if they need to cut bait they likely can. However, his high athletic upside and potential to be able to move up and down the line look like he could be a good piece to add to the roster.

(Statistics per Pro Football Reference) As I said, from a statistical standpoint, nothing to write home about. He has struggled with injuries since coming into the league in 2021. However, he has a decent amount of QB hits for each game played, and shows at first glance a bit of disruption to the pass game. While he sat out the 2024 season with injury his 2024 PFF grade for pass rush locks in at a 70.8. That is no small feat.

Per RAS, his athleticism is where he shines and is quite literally off the chart. There is a reason he was a Number one pick (Per RAS)

At the end of the day, as long as the Lions didn’t spend much on him (contract details are not yet apparent), I have no problem. At 27 years old, if you bring him in to only play relief snaps at DE, this is a fine move. I can’t stress enough that they need to keep the spending low to keep the risk of this signing low: lets hope for an AAV below 4.5 million per year. Final note: Kicking the tires on a oft injured former first round pick has netted the Lions value in the past (i.e. Charles Harris).

Update Contract Information

**The Lions used a little known clause with Rodrigues which allows them to count him for only roughly 1.0 million dollars against the cap due to signing him after his 4 year rookie contract. It equates to a loyalty bonus.

Projected Depth Chart as of Today
Disclaimer: I have no inside information on the depth chart, this is simply my thoughts on where things will land. TBD means I do not think the player is on the roster currently.

You may notice I don’t include every re-signing. That is because I do not think every signing will make the roster. This will certainly change with the draft also.

Quarterback (2):
Jared Goff
Teddy Bridgewater

Wide Receiver (5):
Amon-Ra St. Brown
Jameson WIlliams
Isaac Teslaa
Greg Dortch
Tom Kennedy

Tight End (3):
Sam LaPorta
Tyler Conklin
Brock Wright

Offensive Linemen (10):
Penei Sewell (LT)
Christian Mahogany (LG)
Cade Mays (C)
Tate Ratledge (RG)
TBD (RT/OT2)
Larry Borom (Swing Tackle/6th OL/OT3)
Seth McLaughlin (C2)
Miles Frazier (OG3/OT4)
Juice Scruggs (OG4/C3)
Michael Niese (OG5)

Running Back (4):
Jahmyr Gibbs
Isiah Pachecho
Sione Vaki
Jacob Saylers

DE/EDGE (5):
Aiden Hutchinson
DJ Wonnum
TBD
Payton Turner
Ahmed Hassanein

Defensive Tackle (5):
Alim McNeil
Tyleik Williams
Levi Onwuzurike
Mekhi Wingo
TBD

Cornerback (7):
Terrion Arnold
D.J. Reed
Roger McCreary
Rock Ya-Sin
Nick Whiteside
Ennis Rakestraw
Khalil Dorsey

Safety (5):
Kerby Joseph
Brian Branch
Christian Izien
Thomas Harper
TBD

Linebacker (5):
Jack Campbell
Derrick Barnes
Malcolm Rodriguez
Trevor Nowaske
Damone Clark

Kicker (1):
Jake Bates

Punter (1):
Jack Fox

Does the Payton Turner signing move the needle? No. Some of the other signings help though. It’s a big process. I have heard a lot of folks express their ongoing concern that the Lions are cooked. I respect it, but remember we have a ton of All Pro and Pro Bowl players on our roster still. There is still a lot of upside to these Lions. However, if you decide to feel the other way, that is your choice. We have had far worse years than this one as fans, and I’m not ready to fall into the trap of negativity.