When questioned about the terms of cornerback Marshon Lattimore’s recent contract restructure, general manager of the New Orleans Saints Mickey Loomis would say only those two things. The Saints and Lattimore reached an agreement earlier this month to restructure, freeing almost $11 million in budget space by turning nearly $13.8 million of the cornerback’s 2024 salary into an option bonus.
The terms and circumstances of Lattimore’s revised agreement were unique. To put things in perspective, this deal happened much earlier because the Saints didn’t restructure Lattimore’s 2023 contract until late March. Additionally, the Saints wouldn’t be responsible for that money if New Orleans decides to sell Lattimore before the option expires one week before the regular season begins because his pay was converted to an option bonus rather than a conventional signing bonus.
Yes, there is a purpose, but Loomis declined to reveal it to the audience.
Loomis omitted to mention if the Saints would consider trading for Lattimore. The four-time Pro Bowler is coming off of another season cut short by injuries after missing the whole campaign due to an ankle injury he sustained in a Nov. 12 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
In November, head coach Dennis Allen stated he didn’t think the injury would keep Lattimore out of the game for the remainder of the season. However, by January, when the season was coming to an end and Lattimore was still out of the game, Allen stated the cornerback hadn’t improved as much as the club had hoped. After the season, Allen informed the media that if the Saints had advanced to the postseason, Lattimore probably would have returned for Wild Card weekend.
Nevertheless, Lattimore’s performance has been severely hampered by injuries for the past two seasons. In 2022, he also missed ten games due to a kidney laceration. Even if it could be overstating things to say that he is prone to injuries, the Saints need to decide if trading for him is worthwhile or if he can still be a reliable shutdown corner
