The Lions have added some defensive depth.
Detroit announced on Friday that the club has signed lineman Payton Turner.
Turner, 27, was with the Cowboys last season. But he missed the year after being placed on injured reserve in late August after suffering a rib injury.
A former first-round pick, Turner spent his first four seasons with New Orleans. His most productive year was in 2024, when he appeared in 16 games and recorded 21 total tackles with 2.0 sacks.
In his 31 career contests, Turner has tallied 5.0 sacks, 11 tackles for loss, and 11 quarterback hits.
Lions Clips
The Lions announced the return of a defensive lineman on Thursday.
Myles Adams has re-signed with the team. The Lions did not announce any details of the deal.
Adams was signed off of the Seahawks’ practice squad during the 2024 season and appeared in four games for Detroit. He spent all of last season on the team’s practice squad.
Adams had four tackles and a sack for the Lions in 2025. He had 30 tackles, a sack, and a pass defensed in 26 appearances for the Seahawks.
The Lions also added defensive end D.J. Wonnum and linebacker Damone Clark to their defense this week.
New Houston running back David Montgomery says he’s had respect for the Texans organization since long before the Lions traded him there last week.
Montgomery talked in a video for the Texans’ social media about his experience as a Lions-Texans joint practice in training camp, and hearing Lions coach Dan Campbell talk about his respect for Texans coach DeMeco Ryans.
“When I was in Detroit, Coach Campbell would talk about Coach Ryans all the time,” Montgomery said. “When we had joint practices or he was talking about another coach, he always would talk about Coach Ryans. So now, to be under him and see, and be a part of it now, I’m super excited. I couldn’t think of a more ideal place to be.”
Montgomery said he thinks his playing style is going to be a great fit in Houston.
“I’m just coming to be myself,” Montgomery said. “I think myself has been enough for my previous teams.”
The Texans think he’s enough to make a significant improvement to their offense in 2026.
Free agent wide receiver Greg Dortch is signing a one-year deal with the Lions, NFL Media reports.
Dortch reunites with new Lions offensive coordinator Drew Petzing, who coached Dortch the past three seasons in Arizona.
Dortch, 27, has spent the past five seasons with the Cardinals.
In 2025, he played 12 games with three starts, seeing action on 292 offensive snaps and 103 on special teams. Dortch averaged 11.6 yards on 16 punt returns and 26.2 yards on 31 kickoff returns, while catching 29 passes for 206 yards and three touchdowns.
He began his NFL career with the Panthers in 2019.
In six seasons, Dortch has 145 receptions for 1,310 yards and 10 touchdowns, with an 8.9-yard per punt return average and a 23.6-yard per kickoff return average.
Dortch will replace Kalif Raymond, who is leaving Detroit for Chicago after five seasons.
The Lions signed unrestricted free agent Damone Clark on Wednesday, the team announced.
Clark, 25, finished last season with the Texans, who claimed him off waivers from the Cowboys on Nov. 19.
In six games with Houston, Clark played 23 defensive snaps and 131 on special teams. He made 14 tackles.
The Cowboys made Clark a fifth-round pick in 2020, and he started 17 games for the team in 2023 when he posted 109 tackles and three quarterback hits.
Clark will replace Grant Stuard as a core special teams player. Stuard, who led the team in special teams snaps last season, left in free agency. Clark will join a linebackers room with Jack Campbell, Derrick Barnes, Malcolm Rodriguez and Trevor Nowaske.
Clark has appeared in 55 career games with 26 starts and has totaled 190 total tackles, six tackles for loss, four pass defenses and two forced fumbles.
The Browns are bringing in a potential heavy special teams contributor.
Per Ian Rapoport of NFL Media, Cleveland is signing safety Daniel Thomas.
Thomas, 27, spent last season with Detroit. He appeared in 12 games with two starts, playing 69 percent of special teams snaps in games played. He also played 14 percent of defensive snaps in his appearances.
A fifth-round pick in the 2020 draft, Thomas played his first five seasons with the Jaguars. He’s appeared in 83 career games with six starts for Jacksonville and Detroit, recording three passes defensed, an interception, and 94 total tackles.
Free agent defensive end DJ Wonnum is signing with the Lions on a one-year deal with a maximum value of $6 million, Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reports.
Wonnum, 28, visited the team on Tuesday.
His signing gives the Lions three true edge rushers on their roster, joining Aidan Hutchinson and Ahmed Hassanein. Hassanein didn’t play in his rookie season after a pectoral injury in the preseason.
He spent the past two seasons in Carolina after signing a two-year, $12.5 million deal as a free agent.
Wonnum totaled 79 tackles, seven sacks, one interception, four passes defensed and a forced fumble with the Panthers. He missed time with a quad injury in 2024.
The Vikings selected Wonnum in the fourth round of the 2020 draft. He has 30 career sacks in six seasons, including eight for Minnesota in 2021 and ’23.
Despite playing with one of the league’s best quarterbacks last season with the Chargers, tight end Tyler Conklin had his worst season since 2019.
He played a career-low 13 games and saw the second-fewest offensive touches of his career (169), finishing with seven receptions for 101 yards in his only season with the Chargers.
Conklin, 30, signed with the Lions in free agency and expressed confidence in being able to rebound this season.
“I think I can definitely be very productive in the pass game still,” Conklin said, via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. “I think just because one situation didn’t quite work out the way anybody wanted it doesn’t mean you just, like, can’t do it anymore.”
Conkin, who arrives as the No. 3 tight end behind Sam LaPorta and Brock Wright, caught 50-plus passes for four consecutive seasons for the Vikings (2021) and Jets (2022-24) before landing with the Chargers. New Lions offensive coordinator Drew Petzing ran more three-tight-end sets than any play-caller in the NFL the past three seasons with the Cardinals.
“Whether I’m catching passes, whether I’m blocking more, whether I’m playing special teams, whether I’m just mentoring, whatever that role is, I want to help this team win,” Conklin said. “But I’ve definitely got a lot of good football left in me.”
The Lions hosted offensive lineman Ben Bartch on a free agent visit on Monday.
Bartch, 27, spent the past two-plus seasons with the 49ers, where he started at left guard for four games.
He has 26 career starts, with 15 at left guard and 11 at right guard.
The Jaguars made Bartch a fourth-round pick in 2020, making him the highest-drafted player in Saint John’s (Minnesota) history.
He spent three-plus seasons in Jacksonville before the 49ers signed him off the Jaguars’ practice squad in 2023.
Bartch appeared in 41 games with 20 starts for the Jaguars, including 11 starts at right guard in 2021.
Linebacker Grant Stuard is joining the Rams.
The team announced on Monday that they have signed Stuard to a two-year deal. They did not announce any other terms of the deal.
Stuard was a core special teamer for the Lions in 2025 and he finished the season with 19 tackles in 17 appearances. He has played a similar role throughout an NFL career that started as a Buccaneers seventh-round pick in 2021 and continued with three seasons in Indianapolis.
Stuard made five starts on defense during his time in Indianapolis as well. He has 92 tackles and a forced fumble in 83 career games.
