When the New Orleans Saints officially announced their intention to dip fully into rebuild mode, the Washington Commanders were heralded for their acquisition of former Pro Bowl cornerback Marshon Lattimore which helped the black and gold net three draft picks.
After the Commanders' secondary was so bad that it helped them pile up a few early-season losses, Washington traded for Lattimore with the thought his experience could help change the game for them in the postseason. Instead, he has spent the better half of his most recent playoff game showing why the time was right to move off him.
In the NFC Championship game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Lattimore was getting worked over by AJ Brown. In the span of just a few plays, Lattimore was simultaneously cooked by Brown on a 4th and 5 go-ball down the sideline and had an egregious pass interference not called by the officialls.
Lattimore's next penalty was in the end zone on third down, giving Philly the ball on the one-yard line. The touchdown made it 20-12 (later expanded to 27-12), with Lattimore getting involved in some extracurricular activities after getting in a scuffle with Brown. Mickey Loomis has to be cackling to himself watching this game.
Saints fans can enjoy Marshon Lattimore melting down in Commanders' postseason run
Lattimore is a Saints legend who made four Pro Bowls in his very productive stint with New Orleans, but it looks like Loomis may have known when he was starting to fall off and managed to hop off before things started to crash and burn.
Lattimore never had game-changing long speed, and his injuries may accelerate the aging process he has undergone in his football career. Lattimore is just as feisty as ever, but he is unable to back up his motormouth with the same high standard of play Saints fans may be used to.
The Saints, meanwhile, can reboot using some premium picks that Washington may regret making a move for. While he might be better than most of their lackluster cornerbacks, he clearly has not had the transformative effect on the secondary Adam Peters believed he would when he made the deal.
Nothing hurts more than watching a cornerback get repeatedly picked on in the postseason, and Lattimore is giving Commanders fans heart palpitations as he continues to let his offense down. New Orleans should just sit back and enjoy the windfall of picks coming their way.