Jameis Winston became one of the most beloved members of the New Orleans Saints during his short stint with the team. He was so beloved it could be easy to forget Winston was the catalyst for the Marshon Lattimore versus Mike Evans feud that became one of the biggest individual rivalries the NFL has seen in recent history.
Marshon Lattimore did not forget.
It was Winston who was originally arguing with Lattimore before Evans came in to blindside the Saints cornerback. In a recent episode of The Pivot Podcast, Winston discussed his part in that now iconic feud and how it impacted his initial reception in New Orleans.
Jameis Winston and Marshon Lattimore had beef when Winston first joined the Saints
The initial scuffle between Evans and Lattimore happened in Lattimore's rookie season. Three years later, the Saints acquired Winston. It would make sense the cornerback wasn't fully over it. The animosity was clear in the first days of training camp. "Me and Marshon had a beef until probably about the fifth day of training camp." Winston recollected.
Winston remembered asking Lattimore during practice, "Marshon, you gon' be mad at me the whole time." Apparently, Lattimore wasn't much for words, but his facial expressions said a lot. Michael Thomas was very straightforward with Winston. "He don't really like you like that."
A simple message. This wasn't something Winston could accept. As teammates, it was time to bury the hatchet. Justin Hardee helped facilitate a conversation, and it was clear Lattimore's anger was primarily directed at Evans. Winston took it on himself to apologize, however, because Evans was only taking up for Winston as a teammate.
Winston told Lattimore they can fight, but that wouldn't stop Winston's main goal of forming a brotherhood. His message was, "at the end of the day, I'm your teammate, and I'm not going to stop pursuing as a teammate because we're brothers now."
Lattimore still didn't say much, but the conversation seemed to ease some tension. Thomas wanted Winston to know though, "he still don't like you." That was early in their time together. Maybe things got better, or maybe they just coexisted without beef.
That peace had to be threatened a little bit when Evans blindsided Lattimore again in 2022, once again in the name of "protecting" his quarterback. This time it was Tom Brady. The similarities between that event at the genesis of the rivalry may have created some uncomfortable conversations in the locker room that week.