Impatience is the path Commanders should follow, one NFL analyst suggests

When the Washington Commanders traded for cornerback Marshon Lattimore at the NFL's Trade Deadline in early November it was taken as a sign the team was pushing their chips in on a suddenly competitive squad.

It took some time, but when Lattimore finally suited up for the Commanders it came against his former squad, the New Orleans Saints, who promptly targeted him zero times.

The next week, however, the Philadelphia Eagles went after Lattimore, and even though Washington won, A.J. Brown and company felt they came away having proved something.

Eagles receiver A.J. Brown and Commanders cornerback Marshon Lattimore. | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

From there, Lattimore was shut down until the postseason, and after a couple of less-than-stellar outings, some are wondering if the Commanders were sold a lemon.

One NFL analyst believes Washington needs to cut its losses and release Lattimore this offseason.

"Marshon Lattimore is a four-time Pro Bowl cornerback ... but those four Pro Bowl seasons all came between 2017 and 2021. Since 2022, he's missed 25 games with a variety of injuries," the analyst wrote in an NFL.com column identifying one notable cut candidate for every NFC team. "He was awful in the postseason, earning a horrific 29.6 coverage grade from PFF and allowing 10 catches for 172 yards and a 136.6 passer rating on 14 targets. With a release, his entire $18 million cap hit would become savings in 2025, and while the Commanders are in superb shape (projected to be $75 million under the cap), they might rather spend those millions elsewhere as they seek to build around Jayden Daniels and become a lasting powerhouse in the NFC."

There are multiple problems with this idea, the first of which the analyst themselves points out. The Commanders are not in need of cap relief. If anyone believes general manager Adam Peters is eyeing a $100 million spending spree this offseason, they'll very likely be sorely mistaken.

Something like that happening would be more surprising than releasing a Pro Bowl caliber cornerback after getting just a handful of games out of him.

Then there's Peters' comments about Lattimore at the end of the season. "You know, he came into a tough situation. He did. He was injured when he got here. And so, anytime you come into a new team and you're injured, it's really hard to integrate, you know? And plus, you're coming in at the end of the season, so at the same time you're rehabbing, you're learning a new defense, you're trying to meet new teammates and so, it was a tough situation for him to come in," Peters said. "But what was cool was, you know, we saw him get better and we saw him get more acclimated not only to the defense, but to his teammates. And so, really excited for him to have an off season with us and really learn the defense from the ground up and really have that full runway of training camp and leading into the season. Looking forward to that.”

That doesn't sound like a general manager who is considering releasing Lattimore anytime soon.

Finally, there's the biggest flaw with the idea: That nobody can point to an improvement over Lattimore while calling for him to be released.

Contending teams don't often go around creating talent deficiencies on purpose. So, the theory that in order for Washington to become a serious contender in the NFC somehow involves giving up on Lattimore is seriously lacking in ability to see the forrest through the trees.

Oh, and the Commanders are projected to be at least $75 million under the salary cap, and more likely north of $80 million.

Stick with CommanderGameday and the Locked On Commanders podcast for more FREE coverage of the Washington Commanders throughout the 2024 season.

More Washington Commanders News

• Commanders star could become cap casualty this offseason

• Commanders linked to future Hall of Fame linebacker in free agency

• Did the Washington Commanders have the best 2024 rookie class?

• Could the Commanders be in play to land massive help on the offensive line in free agency?