The next time the New Orleans Saints possibly will see cornerback Marshon Lattimore line up in person on the field in the Caesars Superdome, the date will be Dec. 15 and the Pro Bowl cornerback will be wearing the jersey of that day's opponent, the Washington Commanders.
Lattimore's eight-year Saints career ended Tuesday, when the 2017 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year and a 2025 fifth-round pick were traded to the Commanders for Washington's third-, fourth- and sixth-round picks in 2025.
Saints Executive Vice President/General Manager Mickey Loomis said interest in Lattimore intensified in the last week, given the Saints' record (2-7 entering Sunday's game against Atlanta in the Caesars Superdome).
"That's going to spur calls and we had a number of them over the last four or five days," Loomis said Tuesday night on the radio show The Saints Hour, broadcast on WWL-870 AM.
Lattimore was the first of two first-round picks by New Orleans in 2017, No. 11 overall, and started all 97 games he played for the Saints. The last three seasons were interrupted by several injuries that forced Lattimore to miss 10 games in 2022, seven games in 2023 and two games this season, after he sat out almost all of training camp with a hip pointer.
But as a four-time Pro Bowler in addition to his Defensive ROY award, Lattimore was the most decorated cornerback in franchise history. He finished his Saints career with 15 interceptions (two returned for touchdowns), 88 passes defensed, five fumble recoveries, 405 tackles and seven tackles for loss.
In seven games this season, Lattimore had two passes defensed and 30 tackles.
"Marshon has been a fantastic player for us," Loomis said. "He was a great draft pick – he was the Defensive Rookie of the Year and made the Pro Bowl a number of times. He's a fantastic player, he's a good teammate. I've got nothing but good things to say about Marshon.
"Unfortunately, the last couple of years he's had some soft tissue injuries to deal with and a couple other injuries to deal with. But he still is, I believe, one of the better corners in our league and Washington is getting a good player for their playoff push and their run. So I wish him nothing but the best, I really do.
"Ultimately, it came down to a deal I thought was good for us, good value for us and that's why we did it."
New Orleans now currently has a first-round pick, a second-round pick, two third-rounders, two fourth rounders and two sixth rounders in the 2025 NFL Draft.
"It gives us a good amount of picks in this next year's draft," Loomis said.
Lattimore's departure possibly opens the door for cornerback Alontae Taylor to move to outside cornerback full-time, after starting at slot corner to open each of his three NFL seasons.
Taylor has moved from slot to outside corner due to injuries in past seasons – and currently is outside due to injuries to Lattimore (hamstring) and the season-ending injury to Paulson Adebo – and has shown play-making ability outside, which has been his positional preference.
