Marshon Lattimore was known to be a trade candidate well before the 2024 season began, and to little surprise he was dealt before last month’s deadline. The Pro Bowl corner is set to make his debut with his new team (in his former home stadium) in Week 15, but he is not seen strictly as a rental. 
Many players moved at or around the trade deadline are pending free agents, but Lattimore’s contract runs through 2026. He is due $36.5MM between the 2025 and ’26 seasons, but none of his base salaries for those years are guaranteed. A restructure should be expected this coming offseason as a result, but the Commanders fully intend to keep Lattimore in place for years to come.
“We wanted to get him for not only this year but as long as we can, really,” general manager Adam Peters said when discussing the Lattimore trade (via Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post). “He’s got two more years on his contract and the way he’s played, we want him to be a Commander for a long time.”
A shortlist of serious suitors emerged in the build-up to the trade deadline, and the Commanders ultimately outbid the Ravens, Chiefs and Chargers to acquire Lattimore. The 28-year-old served as an impact starter during his time in New Orleans, but injuries have been an issue in recent years. He is currently on pace to carry cap hits of $18MM and $18.5MM over the next two years, and lowering those figures will be a goal for Washington even if Lattimore lives up to expectations during his initial Commanders games. The team – unlike those who also engaged in a trade pursuit – does not have a veteran quarterback attached to a monster contract, something which will make it easier to keep Lattimore in place beyond 2024.
The secondary has been an issue in past years for Washington, but the team currently ranks fifth against the pass (a stark contrast to this season’s struggles against the run). The Commanders recently moved on from former first-rounder Emmanuel Forbes, and Lattimore (who has racked up 15 interceptions in his career and recorded double-digit pass deflections in each of his first five seasons) could emerge as a key figure in Washington’s CB room now and into the future. If Peters is able to meet his goal of working out a long-term arrangement, Lattimore should be expected to remain in the nation’s capital for several years.
For what they paid, this is to be expected. Thing is, Lattimore really isn’t as good as he’s considered. He’s just not consistent year to year-some years he plays like a top ten corner, and others he’s mediocre. It goes against how pundits consider him, but Lattimore’s press doesn’t always match up with what he provides on the field.
That said, he should be enough to be a decent number two for a couple of years, though. After the Forbes trade, Washington is really going to need to invest in a top corner, and Lattimore hopefully will be a veteran platform to play on the other side.
Lol
Well, I’m not sure what you meant, but it is true. Check out Lattimore’s 2021 and 2022 in comparison to his 2023 and 2024. There was a span of a couple of seasons where he gave up the second most yardage in the league (behind Trevon Diggs). He rebounded to not give up a TD in coverage for the last few seasons, but he’s also missed a ton of games. In 2022 and 2023 alone, he missed an entire season’s worth (17 games), not counting the time that’d missed in other seasons (including this year). His hamstring’s been an issue since college, amongst other injuries, and he’s only played two full seasons since he entered the league in 2017.
Obviously Lattimore has put together great performances (his work against Mike Evans is always good), but he also has had bumps in the road that often are ignored. Most importantly, he’s had a lot of injuries and is getting closer to the 30 threshold where drop off usually happens (especially considering his injury history). Lattimore is obviously capable of being a great corner, but I don’t think that it’s sound to plan for him to be Washington’s number one for the next few years. I think that the team knows this, and will acquire a younger number one accordingly.