New Orleans Saints fans are looking forward to what should be a fun season in 2026. The team finished the 2025 campaign on a high note and fans are hoping that momentum carries over into 2026.
A team that's hoping for a bounce back year is the Detroit Lions, who, after two straight years of winning their division and reaching the playoffs, had a down year and missed out on the dance altogether. The Lions especially struggled defensively and worked hard to build on improving that side of the ball this offseason.
One new face joining the Lions' defense this offseason is a name that Saints fans will not only recognize but will likely groan at hearing. Payton Turner, a former first-round pick by New Orleans in 2021, signed with Detroit in March and hopes that his Lions tenure goes better than his time with the Saints and Cowboys.
Saints fans can't help but laugh at Lions' Payton Turner optimism
Michael Colwander of SideLion Report thinks that it very well could and even went so far as to say that Turner could be a sneaky fix to Detroit's pass-rushing problems. Saints fans' sides will likely hurt from laughing so hard at that thought but let's explore Colwander's thoughts here a little bit.
"Turner may not have been the most exciting pass rush acquisition for the Lions, but the NFL is unpredictable. Few can say they saw Al-Quadin Muhammad's 11.0 sacks last season coming. As long as Hutchinson is lining up, another similar breakout season could happen, and who's to say it can't be Turner this time?"
While we can't predict the future, Saints fans are pretty certain that a breakout season isn't coming from Turner. They were waiting for one the entire time he was in the Big Easy and it never came. Four years later, the team moved on from Turner and he tried to turn things around in Dallas but never played a snap for the Cowboys due to injury.
That's the biggest problem for Turner is that he has struggled to stay healthy throughout his pro career. While he appeared in 16 games in 2024, his last in New Orleans, in the three years before that, he appeared in 15 games total. Let that sink in.
Hey, good on Lions fans for thinking there's a chance that Turner can turn into something but Saints fans know what's realistic with the former first-round bust and it's not a breakout campaign. If he does happen to find success in Detroit though, then more power to him. But Saints fans won't be shocked when it doesn't happen.
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