The New Orleans Saints Activated Their Former 1st Round Pick off Injured Reserve.

The Saints activated Payton Turner off injured reserve.

Turner suffered a turf toe injury in Week 1 that required surgery and was placed on injured reserve.

Turner was designated for return from injured reserve on December 15 but was unable to play in Weeks 15-17.

Who stepped up with Turner out?

Carl Granderson has stepped up with the injury to Turner. Granderson is having his best season in New Orleans and is leading the team in sacks. He has 74 tackles, 13 for a loss, 19 quarterback hits, 8.5 sacks, one pass deflection, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, 27 pressures, and a 74.6 PFF Grade. 

Another player who stepped up is Tanoh Kpassagnon. Kpassagnon’s role increased with Turner out of the lineup and has been a productive rotational piece. He has 17 tackles, four for a loss, nine quarterback hits, 3.5 sacks, two pass deflections, 13 pressures, and a 66.3 PFF Grade.

Will Payton Turner play this week?

Payton Turner is expected to play in their regular-season finale. Here’s what Turner had to say about his recovery and is excited to play on Sunday:

“I’ve been chomping at the bit since September to get back,” Turner said. “So it was just kind of a thing where I wasn’t quite ready, I was making progress, still soreness and stuff, you know, but at this point in the season nobody is at 100%, so if I can go out there and play and contribute then I’m going to go out there and play and contribute.”

“Obviously it didn’t go the way I wanted it to,” Turner said. “I think I did everything I could to put myself in position for it to go the way I wanted it to. It’s frustrating, of course, but like I said last time, out of that frustration came a lot of focus, just to get back and get back to playing, so I’m excited for Sunday.”