The New Orleans Saints don’t have a reputation for prioritizing the long-term view with roster moves, and that seems to apply to the upcoming NFL final cuts deadline.
Still, that won’t stop onlookers from wondering about players like cornerback Marshon Lattimore.
Bleacher Report’s Alex Ballentine, for example, listed Lattimore as one of seven players leaguewide that teams should be attempting to trade before cuts. The writeup suggests the return via trade should be a third-round pick, at least:
“Lattimore has proved he can play at an elite level when he's healthy. It makes sense for the Saints to get a valuable pick in return for him, clear up some cap space and build toward the future when the roster doesn't look good enough to contend in 2024.”
Lattimore is a key piece of the Saints franchise and has been since the team drafted him 11th overall in 2017. But he comes up as a trade candidate for two reasons—he hasn’t played a full season since 2021 and he’s got a massive contract.
That contract, coincidentally, was actually restructured recently with a unique “option bonus,” which means if he’s traded before the season, his new team will pay that money, not the Saints. So while there haven’t been any rumblings and trade buzz lately, the existence of that outlier of an option keeps things interesting.
But…those two factors are why other teams might not have an interest, either, no matter how badly the Saints might want to get something done. Lattimore has made it into just 17 games over the last two seasons and carries a $31.4 million cap hit in 2025 and a $28.5 million hit in 2026.
Considering rookie Kool-Aid McKinstry is dealing with an injury, the other corner spots aren’t standouts and the team has yet to seem confident in the safety next to Tyrann Mathieu after losing the Justin Simmons sweepstakes in free agency, it’s hard to imagine the Saints send Lattimore away.
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