After seeing defensive end Chauncey Golston reportedly sign a three-year, $19.5 million deal with the New York Giants on Monday night, the Dallas Cowboys emphasize adding defensive line depth in Day 2 of free agency.
On Tuesday, the Cowboys reportedly signed veteran defensive lineman Solomon Thomas to a two-year contract worth up to $8 million. Along with Thomas, Dallas signed former New Orleans Saints first-round pick Payton Turner to a one-year, $3 million deal (with $2 million guaranteed), per Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network.
This is a potential low-risk, high-reward move for both parties. The Cowboys need depth on the edge with Golston heading to New York and DeMarcus Lawrence still sitting in free agency.
Turner, a Houston, TX native, played high school football at Westside and college football at the University of Houston, making this a homecoming.
The Cowboys were familiar with Turner before they signed him on Tuesday. A few years ago, Dallas was one of the teams at the University of Houston's pro day where they watched Turner.
The former first-round pick is coming off his best year as a pro, as he stayed healthy and played in a career-high 16 games in 2024. In his first three seasons with the Saints, Turner played in 15 combined games due to various injuries (foot, shoulder, calf, knee, chest, and toe).
Last season with the Saints, the 6-foot-6 defensive end posted 21 combined tackles, four pass deflections, three tackles for loss, two sacks, and two forced fumbles. Despite only having two sacks, Turner had nine quarterback pressures (career-high) in 31 percent of defensive spans.
According to PFF, Turner wasn’t the best at stopping the run with a 40.7 grade (201st among 211 edge rushers), but had success getting after the quarterback with a 70.8 pass rush grade (39th).
When you compare Turner’s PFF grades to Golston, the former Cowboys defensive end was better at stopping the run with a 56.8 grade (133rd). However, Golston’s pass rush mark wasn’t spectacular (60.7), even though he had seven sacks last season.
That said, with a new defensive coordinator (Matt Eberflus) taking over, the Cowboys hope to catch lightning in a bottle with Turner and take his game to another level in 2025.