Soft-tissue injuries are common early at training camp, but it’s still tough to see a key player sidelined like this. Marshon Lattimore left the third day of New Orleans Saints practices at UC Irvine with an injury. Afterwards head coach Dennis Allen said it was a hip flexor, which is something Lattimore has dealt with before. He suffered a hip flexor injury at the 2017 NFL Scouting Combine but it didn’t limit him much once the Saints drafted him.
This is why they drafted Kool-Aid McKinstry despite having both Paulson Adebo and Alontae Taylor on the roster along with Lattimore. No team has enough cornerbacks, and the Saints are no different. If this does linger then both McKinstry and Taylor will be getting on the field instead of competing with each other to man the slot. McKinstry took Lattimore’s reps on the first team defense with Taylor remaining in the slot at Friday’s practiice.
How much time will Lattimore miss? Allen was short on details, so we can only speculate. Depending on the severity he could be sidelined for a week or up to six weeks. Hopefully it isn’t that severe. Lattimore has missed a full 17-game season’s worth of action over the last two years recovering from freak accident injuries (a lacerated kidney in 2022 and a badly sprained ankle in 2023). It has to be frustrating for the former four-time Pro Bowler. We’ll be sure to monitor his progress.
