Coach Dennis Allen says Saints DE Payton Turner ‘probably’ needs foot surgery.
METAIRIE, Louisiana (AP) – Coach Dennis Allen said Monday that New Orleans Saints defensive end Payton Turner, who left Sunday’s season-opening victory over Tennessee with a foot injury, “probably” needs surgery and might be out for an extended length of time.
Turner, a first-round draft pick out of Houston in 2021, suffered with injuries over his first two seasons, appearing in a total of 13 games.
Last season, he showed promise in eight games, with two sacks and five tackles for loss, as well as blocking a potential game-winning field goal.
“It’s unfortunate for Payton because I thought he was doing some good things early in the game and he had a nice training camp,” Allen said, noting that the turf toe injury occurred on what appeared to be a harmless play on video.
“The interesting thing, when you watch the play, there wasn’t anything significant where you say, ‘I see where that occurred,” Allen went on to add.
Allen likened Turner’s injury to one suffered by Trevor Penning in a preseason game last year. Penning was sidelined for over three months.
Turner did not play in the first game, although he was a key reserve behind ends Cameron Jordan and Carl Granderson. In the game, he helped on one tackle.
Saints rookie defensive end Isaiah Foskey, a second-round draft pick out of Notre Dame, was inactive for the season opener but could now be thrust into a more regular role if he responds well to a chance to play more, according to Allen.
“I definitely believe an opportunity has arisen for him,” Allen remarked. “We’ll decide what we think is the best move for our team.”
“He’s still a guy that needs some development and yet I saw a lot of improvement from early in training camp all the way through the last preseason game,” he said. “It probably just accelerated the curve a little bit.”
Payton Turner’s turf toe injury may necessitate surgery, according to reports.
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.
