After a “positive conversation,” Dennis Allen anticipates CB Marshon Lattimore returning to the Saints.
Head coach Dennis Allen decided to speak with top cornerback Marshon Lattimore as it was frequently rumored that the New Orleans Saints might trade the standout player.
On Tuesday, Allen informed the media that he spoke with Lattimore “two or three weeks ago” about the trade speculations.
“I simply believed it was something we had to discuss,” Allen stated on Tuesday, as reported by Katherine Terrell of ESPN. Outside our building, there has been a lot of discussion on trades and related topics. I therefore simply thought that we should probably talk. We’re excited to work with him when he returns and are glad that the conversation went well.
On Tuesday, when asked directly if Lattimore would still be with the team in 2024, Allen said, “Yeah.”
When the Saints changed Lattimore’s contract, turning his base salary into an option bonus that facilitates trades, rumors of a possible deal began to circulate. Ever since, New Orleans has rejected the idea of a deal; however, after the trade-up in the second round of the draft to select DB Kool-Aid McKinstry, talk of the trade resumed.
For a veteran, Lattimore’s absence from OTAs is not out of the ordinary. Last year, he went to mandatory minicamp.
“I wouldn’t say that’s been uncommon since probably about 2020,” Allen remarked on Lattimore’s non-participation in OTAs. “I am aware of his diligence. I am aware that he is trying to put himself in the finest possible condition.”
With a contract signed in 2021, Lattimore is presently the sixth-highest paid corner in the NFL. After being selected to three consecutive Pro Bowls, he has missed 17 games in the last two seasons. If the Saints were to move the veteran, a deal probably wouldn’t materialize until after June 1 because to the salary cap consequences. Such a transaction won’t happen, if Allen and the Saints brass are to be believed.
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