Surprise buyers at the NFL trade deadline, the Washington Commanders made a major splash Tuesday by acquiring four-time Pro Bowl cornerback Marshon Lattimore from the New Orleans Saints.
Washington sent third-, fourth- and sixth-round picks to New Orleans and got a fifth back along with Lattimore, pending him passing a physical. The teams announced the trade roughly two hours before the deadline.
Lattimore, 28, provides an instant upgrade on defense for the Commanders, who are off to a 7-2 start to the season and looked to add to augment their unexpected playoff aspirations. He should start alongside Benjamin St-Juste and rookie Mike Sainristil at cornerback in a secondary that also includes impressive safeties Jeremy Chinn and Quan Martin.
Trading Lattimore is the latest shakeup for the Saints after firing coach Dennis Allen following a seventh consecutive loss that dropped them to 2-7. The 2017 AP Defensive Rookie of the Year has been dogged by hamstring injuries that caused him to miss games and was the subject of trade rumors for quite some time.
Lattimore has not allowed a touchdown to be scored on him in coverage since 2021, a strength that makes up for having just two interceptions over that time. His restructured contract made him a low-cost addition for Washington, and he has no guaranteed money remaining.
First-year general manager Adam Peters also did not have to give up many assets the organization did not already have when he was hired in January. Peters got a third-round pick from Philadelphia in the August trade that sent receiver Jahan Dotson to the Eagles, and the sixth going to the Saints is their own from acquiring defensive tackle John Ridgeway from the Commanders just before the start of the season.
Lattimore also gives Peters and coach Dan Quinn options with young struggling cornerback Emmanuel Forbes, who did not play a snap Sunday at the New York Giants. Forbes, a 2023 first-round pick a year after Dotson in a succession of draft mistakes by Ron Rivera’s previous regime, has been benched multiple times as a pro and is himself a trade candidate.
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AP Pro Football Writer Rob Maaddi contributed.
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