The New Orleans Saints signaled that their rebuild will be getting underway after they sent Marshon Lattimore to the Washington Commanders in exchange for three 2025 draft picks. The move wasn't all that surprising considering the state of things for the Saints at the moment and that Lattimore was an attractive trade candidate.
Lattimore is only 28 years old and is still playing at a high level so it makes sense that people are praising the Commanders for bringing him in. It's a bit surprising to not see the Saints getting the same applause for receiving three picks in exchange but hey, maybe they're skeptical of the Saints actually using those picks effectively.
With the trade in the books, let's take a look at how people around the league feel about the trade from the Saints perspective. Do they believe the team made a mistake trading Lattimore or do they feel the move was the correct one?
Experts on the same page about Saints trading Marshon Lattimore to Commanders
Gordon McGuinness, PFF: B+
McGuinness said about the trade from NOLA's side of things: "For the Saints, it’s a solid return, given that they look to be in sell-now mode." For what it's worth, he gave Washington an A, noting that the Commanders needed defensive help and got it in the form of Lattimore.
Jeff Kerr, CBS Sports: B
Kerr mentioned how the Commanders benefitted from the Saints' desire to rebuild and gave them a B for their end of the trade. He didn't go into too much detail on why he gave New Orleans that grade but a B grade isn't anything to scoff at.
Bleacher Report: B
Another B grade for the Saints comes from Bleacher Report, who pointed out that the team is clearly in rebuild mode after firing Dennis Allen and now trading Lattimore. The Bleacher Report staff also notes, "General manager Mickey Loomis needs to clean up his own mess, as the team was expected to be nearly $70 million over next year's salary cap prior to this trade. The Saints will be forced to eat a $31.7 million dead-cap hit for Lattimore next season, but his contract will officially be off their books after that, according to New Orleans Football's Mike Triplett."
The Saints aren't going anywhere this year and that was true with Lattimore still on the roster. They might still have to pay the price (literally) in the form of dead cap money next year but after that, Lattimore's off the books for good and the Saints need all of the help they can in that department.
Let's hope that Lattimore does well with his new team and the Saints can use the three picks they got in this deal to help speed along the rebuild.