With many roster moves being made official or at least reported over the past few days, each team’s needs heading into 2026 free agency become more and more clear. While the New Orleans Saints have remained quiet so far on this front, they have plenty of players hitting the market who they will have to assess and determine whether or not they wish to bring them back. Washington Commanders cornerback Marshon Lattimore, who had previously been noted as a cuts candidate, is now facing an imminent release.
As the Saints continues to build further in the direction of a youth movement, they have started to embrace the idea of trading away veterans, notably Lattimore and Rashid Shaheed. The former ended up heading to the Commanders in hopes of competing once again, but unfortunately for him, the Commanders ended up struggling in 2025, and his play has rapidly diminished.
Previously, it was reported that Lattimore was likely to be released heading into the new league year, and today that move seems to be nearing official, as Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports his release is imminent.
Commanders releasing CB Marshon Lattimore. (via @RapSheet) pic.twitter.com/HZosU5SuSb
— NFL (@NFL) March 2, 2026
This leaves the trade essentially finalized on one side, but it brings up the ability to look at this whole move in hindsight and see who ended up with the better final result. In this trade, the Commanders received Lattimore and a 2025 fifth-round selection (traded to the San Francisco 49ers for Deebo Samuel). The Saints ended up with three selections in the 2025 NFL Draft, including a third, fourth, and sixth-round choice. These ended up being Jonas Sanker, Quincy Riley, and Devin Neal.
So, at the end of all of this, Washington ended up with 14 games out of Lattimore, including the playoffs, in which he did not perform at a particularly high level, and 16 games from Deebo Samuel, in a year where, despite his decent production, the team was struggling. Now, Samuel is also expected to leave in free agency this spring, so that side of the trade could be finalized soon.
As for New Orleans, they were able to evaluate two of their three rookies in 2025, with Sanker and Riley both playing in all 17 games and getting starting reps at one point or another. Both looked rather impressive, and by the end of the year, they started to showcase some positive development. As for Neal, he was able to play in 10 games, only starting three, and while he showed a few flashes, he will need to get some more reps before he can be evaluated fully. Overall, though, a great trade for New Orleans, getting three young pieces for a veteran who didn’t fit their timeline and a fifth-round pick.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Commanders cutting Marshon Lattimore further proves Saints won trade