The NFL deadline for teams to pick up the fifth-year options for 2025 on their first round picks in the 2021 draft came and went on Thursday, without any movement from the New Orleans Saints. This means that defensive end Payton Turner is entering a contract year in 2024, and that he’ll be a free agent in 2025 unless he earns an extension.
It would have cost the Saints more than $13 million in 2025 to exercise Turner’s option, so it’s easy to understand why they declined to do so. Just 18 of the 32 first-round picks in 2021 had those options picked up by their teams, suggesting a hit rate of about 56% — with the Saints among 14 teams on the wrong side of that percentage.
What’s frustrating is that all three of the players at Turner’s position, who were picked immediately after him in Round 1, have outplayed him:
- Payton Turner: 3 sacks, 8 hits, 8 tackles for loss in 15 games
- Gregory Rousseau: 17 sacks, 42 hits, 30 TFL in 46 games
- Odafe Oweh: 13 sacks, 38 hits, 16 TFL in 45 games
- Joe Tryon-Shoyinka: 13 sacks, 31 hits, 18 TFL in 51 games
Of that group, only Turner and Tryon-Shoyinka did not have their options picked up for 2025, which goes to show how each team feels about those players. There’s still time for Turner to change the narrative surrounding his career, but that time is running out.
Injuries and inconsistent play have been the story of his career so far. Last season it was just bad luck — Turner enjoyed the best summer of his career and didn’t miss a single practice during training camp, only to go down with a serious turf toe injury early in the season opener. He underwent surgery and didn’t return until the regular season finale. With everyone on last year’s depth chart returning and Chase Young added to the mix, Turner needs to step up and earn his roster spot. There’s a real possibility he gets let go during cuts in September.
