New Orleans Saints defensive end Payton Turner Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

Saints DE Payton Turner cleared to return from shoulder surgery

By Zac Wassink | Last updated 6/29/22

Young New Orleans Saints defensive end Payton Turner is back.

Turner last appeared in an NFL game back on Nov. 7, when he went down with a shoulder injury that ultimately cost him the remainder of what could have become a promising rookie season and left him requiring surgery. Per Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk and Grant Gordon of the NFL's website, the 23-year-old took to Twitter on Wednesday to confirm he's cleared for football activities ahead of training-camp sessions set to open in late July:

It’s been a long road to recovery, I had a pretty major shoulder surgery last November and didn’t have quite the rookie year I wanted but shoutout to everybody that’s stayed down with me and helped me get to this point, blessed to say I’ve been CLEARED
— Payton Turner (@pt_turner98) June 29, 2022

Turner entered the league when the Saints selected him No. 28 overall in the 2021 draft. He was left inactive on three occasions last fall and tallied a total of 12 tackles and a sack across five games before he experienced the November setback playing against the Atlanta Falcons.

For a piece published on June 1, Bob Rose of FanNation's Saints News Network named Turner as a candidate for a "breakout" 2022 campaign. Williams, meanwhile, noted that Turner logged just 143 defensive snaps to go along with 21 snaps on special teams last season, so he should be fresh and, ideally, fully healed when veterans report to training camp on July 26.

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