The Detroit Lions have arrived late to the free agency party. The team has roped in former Dallas Cowboys defensive end Payton Turner with a one-year, $3million contract with the Lions.

Payton Turner joined the New Orleans Saints in 2021 after having a stellar college career with Houston. However, he played in only 31 games over the first four years. 2024 was his most productive year, in which he played in 15 games.

He joined the Cowboys from New Orleans in the 2025 season on a one-year, $3 million contract, but did not take the field over the course of the season. In total, he has recorded 50 total tackles, 11 tackles for loss, and 5.0 sacks

Despite his stellar college career, the Cowboys could not take advantage of signing Turner due to a rib injury he suffered in training camp, which cut his season entirely. The Cowboys have instead reinforced their defensive line more by bringing in Rashan Gary from the Green Bay Packers.

Turner is now heading to Detroit to join a defensive unit headlined by Aidan Hutchinson. The Lions were looking to build depth around their star pass rusher, and they hope that Turner stays healthy to take the field.

At The Same Time, The Dallas Defense Looks Quite Strong

After his departure from the Green Bay Packers, Rashan Gary had written an emotional farewell to the Packers fans.

Soon after that, he expressed his enthusiasm for joining the Cowboys and said that he is one of the best in the league.

"Turn it around, man. I'm one of the best in the league," he told reporters. I feel like anything that I need to do in terms of setting the edge, knocking things back, trying to keep things under control, being able to twogap in situations that I need, and just being able to be the anchor that I am."

Gary is also to be reunited with Kenny Clark, his former teammate, who played with him in the Green Bay Packers. Clark was sent to the Cowboys as part of the Micah Parsons deal.

The Cowboys will hope that Rashan Gary gives them the much-needed edge in the defense, as it struggled to keep pace with the opposition last season.

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Written by

Shyam Hari

Edited by

Siddharth Shirwadkar