ASHBURN, Va. — Four-time pro bowl defensive back, Marshon Lattimore, arrived in Ashburn Wednesday morning after the team struck a deal with the New Orleans Saints on the trade deadline, Tuesday.
Washington gave New Orleans a 3rd, 4th and 6th round draft pick next year for Lattimore. In return, the Commanders received a 5th round draft pick in 2025.
When the idea of bringing in a player of Lattimore’s caliber came across Dan Quinn’s desk, he was all for it.
“I’d say, you had me at hello. This was easy, man," said Quinn. "To acquire a player of Marshon’s caliber, the toughness, the physicality. Whether it was this month, six months from now, this is a player that you’d want to be on your team. He stands for the right stuff. He’s got an attitude about him, and we’re really pumped to have him here.”
Lattimore says yesterday he got a call from his agent while at the Saints facility letting him know he had been traded
"I was in New Orleans yesterday doing treatment, and now I’m here," said Lattimore told reporters Wednesday he was excited to be in Washington. “They got a good, young quarterback. They’ve got good things going on. Well, we do. Let me change how I’m talking, but we’ve got stuff going on here so it’s a great situation for me to be in. I’m excited for it.”
“Whatever we’re playing, if we’re playing zone, we’re playing press-man, we’re playing whatever it is, he’s going to be able to do all that," said General Manager Adam Peters. "He’s a really smart player, he’s a really instinctive player. He’s physical and those are things we’re looking for. He’s just a really good football player all around”
Peters says Lattimore is on a team-friendly deal this year and they have him under contract two more seasons beyond 2024. He said that, paired with the number of draft picks they had this upcoming spring, allowed him to pull the trigger.
"We had a surplus, we had nine picks," said Peters. "That made us feel a little more comfortable doing this,"
Lattimore, dealing with a hamstring injury sat out Wednesday's practice.
"The injury just happened, so I don’t really know what’s going on as far as like a timetable for getting back on the field," said Lattimore.
"We’ll just take it day by day and just put him out there when he’s ready," said Peters.
The eight-year veteran, Lattimore, might not have practiced, but he was already making an impact on his younger teammate, Benjamin St-Juste, his first day in Ashburn. Working on the sideline with the fellow cornerback.
"We’re just talking about some press technique stuff, how he sees it, because different DBs with different coaches they have a different thought process on how to get up to the line," said St-Juste about his work with Lattimore. "I was sharing how I was doing it. He was telling me how he does it and then I was asking, what do you see next? Because, obviously, he has a lot of experience so I’m obviously here to take that stuff in, get my game to the next level. It starts right away. ‘What up, bro? Alright, good. Let’s get to work.’ He knows what we’re building here and he knows what he brings to this team, so I’m here all for that.”