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John Keim
John Keim
ESPN Staff Writer
- John Keim covers the Washington Commanders for ESPN. He joined ESPN in 2013 after a stint with the Washington Post. He started covering the team in 1994 for the Journal Newspapers and later for the Washington Examiner. He has authored/co-authored four books. You can also listen to him on ‘The John Keim Report’, which airs on ESPN Richmond radio, and follow him on Twitter @john_keim
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Katherine Terrell
Katherine Terrell
ESPN Staff Writer
- Katherine Terrell came back to ESPN to cover the New Orleans Saints in the summer of 2022. She left the company in 2019 after joining in 2016 to cover the Cincinnati Bengals. Katherine is a graduate of LSU and a Baton Rouge, Louisiana, native, and she has covered the NFL since 2013. You can follow Katherine on Twitter: @Kat_Terrell
Nov 5, 2024, 01:04 PM ET
The Washington Commanders solidified their secondary Tuesday, trading for New Orleans Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore.
The Commanders (7-2) traded 2025 picks in the third and fourth rounds and also gave the Saints (2-7) a 2025 sixth-round pick they acquired in a previous trade this summer for defensive tackle John Ridgeway III. In addition to Lattimore, Washington received a 2025 fifth-round pick.
The Commanders, who have long stated their desire to build through the draft, still have seven picks in 2025.
| Player | Pass breakups |
|---|---|
| James Bradberry | 73 |
| Darius Slay | 72 |
| Marshon Lattimore | 68 |
| — ESPN Research |
Washington lacked corner depth, in addition to a top-end starter. The Commanders used Benjamin St-Juste as their top corner, with rookie Mike Sainristil on the other side.
But Sainristil was drafted to play their slot corner, and the move outside was more from necessity. The coaches have said often that they view Sainristil’s future as a slot corner. This move allows Washington to put him back inside with Lattimore and St-Juste outside.
The Commanders drafted Emmanuel Forbes in the first round in 2023, but he’s a backup and has appeared in only five games — and in two of those games he played six or fewer snaps.
Washington ranks 21st in yards per pass attempt but fifth in passing yards per game. The Commanders are 18th in opposing quarterback passer rating.
Lattimore made the Pro Bowl four times between 2017 and 2021 but has missed 19 games over the past two seasons, including two games this season with a hamstring injury.
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“He’s a fantastic player,” Saints general manager Mickey Loomis said. “He was a good teammate, and I’ve got nothing but good things to say about Marshon. Unfortunately the last couple 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 here and their run, so I wish him nothing but the best, I really do.
“It was just, you know, ultimately it came down to a deal that I thought was good for us, good value for us, and that’s why we did it.”
Lattimore has been the subject of trade speculation for almost a year after he worked with the Saints to restructure his contract for maximum flexibility last December. He has two more years remaining on his contract that calls for cap hits of $18 million in 2025 and $18.5 million in 2026. But there is no more guaranteed money on his current deal. He’ll count $605,000 for Washington the rest of this season.
According to the Roster Management System, the Commanders have the second-most cap space in 2025, but they have only 30 players under contract for next season, including Lattimore.
Lattimore, who skipped voluntary workouts in the spring, said during minicamp that he never requested a trade but admitted that he and former Saints coach Dennis Allen had a “personal situation” they had to work through.
Trade speculation seemed to wane after Lattimore showed up at minicamp. Lattimore said he was committed to the Saints and started seven games this season.
Loomis said the Saints fielded several calls from teams interested in Lattimore in the days leading up to Tuesday’s deadline.
“I think really it’s just been the last week when there was some speculation about him being traded, given our record, that’s gonna spur calls and we had a number of them over the last, you know, four or five days,” he said.
The Saints fired Allen on Monday morning after their seventh straight loss and named special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi the interim coach.
