Will Marshon Lattimore be traded this offseason? Never say never, but he’s done his part to voice his commitment to the New Orleans Saints. The team’s star cornerback downplayed trade speculation that has trailed him for months while laying out his plans for the season ahead. He feels like he needs to remind everyone just how talented he is.
“I’ve been hurt for two years so I understand,” Lattimore told NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill. “People probably don’t think I’m the same type of player. All I’ve got to do is prove to people who I am. That really falls on me to be honest.” When asked about ranking the top cornerbacks around the league, he interjected “I’m No. 1.”
He said that he’s already cleared the air with head coach Dennis Allen and now all focus is on staying healthy and meeting the expectations he set earlier in his career. As Lattimore alluded to, injuries have kept him off the field in each of the last two seasons, but before that he was recognized as a Pro Bowler in four of his first five years with the Saints. That’s where he wants to get back to, and smoothing over this friction with Allen and the team is part of the process to moving on.
Lattimore elaborated: “We had a situation, a personal situation that we worked through, but it wasn’t like I wanted to leave or he wanted me to leave or nothing like that. I don’t know how y’all looked at it but it was just a situation that happened personally. But it wasn’t nothing like I told him I wanted to leave.”
The deadline for the Saints to trade Lattimore, if they choose to do so, is Sept. 1. At that point they’ll either need to restructure his contract again — eliminating the possibility of a trade — or agree to a deal with another team. But both Lattimore and Allen have said they plan on him wearing No. 23 in black and gold this season. Speculation won’t quiet down until then. That doesn’t mean either of them are listening to it.
