Here's a bit of click bait speculation, surmising and a suggestion of what a Saints trade with the 49ers could look like involving Marshon Lattimore for Brandon Aiyuk that was put out 7/19/24 by Trace Girouard of Saints Now by Chat Sports that can be viewed on YouTube.
Here's some more from today, 7/20/24, by Patrick Siepman of Vikings Now by Chat Sports that's regurgitating some of the same stuff that Bleacher Report recently put out in a trade idea by Ryan Fowler (Link: https://bleacherreport.com/articles...ideas-that-would-transform-the-league-in-2024) involving the Saints sending Lattimore to the Vikings.
In the YouTube Video below Siepman spends about 4 minutes starting at the 47 second mark. He covers not only the trade idea but goes into pretty good detail about the state of the Saints current DB Room.
Link Below:
Stepping all the way back into the beginning of this week on Monday, 7/15/24, David Lathom, Managing Editor of Last Word On Sports, revisits the subject.
Here's an excerpt:
A Recent Article Suggests That The New Orleans Saints Trade Star Cornerback Marshon Lattimore To The Minnesota Vikings.
New Orleans Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore has been the subject of trade rumors throughout the offseason. A first-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, Lattimore headlined one of the best draft classes in recent memory. The Ohio State product quickly established himself as one of the best cornerbacks in the game, locking down his side of the field while playing a crucial role in turning New Orleans into a legitimate contender during the final years of Drew Brees’ storied career.
However, injuries have taken their toll on the veteran, as he has only played in a combined 17 games over the past two seasons. He hasn’t played up to his old standard even when healthy, as the cornerback finished the 2023 season with a 67.4 PFF grade, the 50th-best mark out of 127 eligible players. The cash-strapped Saints can clear $3.98 million in cap space with a trade, and Bleacher Report‘s Ryan Fowler believes the Minnesota Vikings should send a 2025 fifth-round pick and a 2026 third-round pick for Marshon Lattimore.
Fowler points to the respective depth charts of the Saints and Vikings to justify a potential Marshon Lattimore trade. Despite lacking draft capital, New Orleans traded up to select cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry in the 2024 NFL Draft, suggesting they believe he has what it takes to be a legitimate lockdown cornerback. Minnesota, meanwhile, swung and missed on cornerback Andrew Booth Jr and safety Lewis Cine and could use more help in their secondary. Defensive coordinator Brian Flores runs an aggressive defense that requires strong cornerback play, and Lattimore could be a huge help there.
The biggest question here is the return. Fowler has the Saints receiving a 2025 fifth-round pick and a 2026 third-round pick, which seems like a lot given the current cornerback market. L’Jarius Sneed is one year younger and considerably better than the present-day version of Marshon Lattimore, but the Chiefs could only trade him for a 2025 third-round pick. Any team acquiring Lattimore will also acquire his bloated contract, so it’s hard to envision New Orleans receiving a better return than what the Chiefs got for Sneed.
From a ProFootballNetwork.Com article 5/21/24 by Dallas Robinson. Excerpts below:
Will the Saints Trade Marshon Lattimore? Explaining the Trade Rumors and CB’s Contract Situation
While Dennis Allen and Mickey Loomis say the Saints aren't planning to trade CB Marshon Lattimore, his contract structure tells a different story.
If New Orleans moves Lattimore on June 2 or later, it could spread his dead money over the 2024 and 2025 seasons.
Lattimore’s guaranteed option bonus is worth $13.79 million and must be exercised before Week 1 of the 2024 regular season.
Moving Lattimore could make sense for New Orleans, which just selected CB Kool-Aid McKinstry in Round 2 of the 2024 NFL Draft and also has corners Paulson Adebo and Alontae Taylor on the roster and needs long-term salary cap space.
However, Allen said Tuesday that the Saints are “moving forward” with Lattimore, who is not expected at the club’s facility until minicamp later this summer.
Loomis has been a bit more evasive. Asked about Lattimore’s status before the draft, the Saints GM said, “Everybody is tradeable.”
After the draft, Loomis expanded on Lattimore’s situation.
“When a guy is a really good player for your team, they’re not on the market per se. But there are times when you get a call and somebody makes a proposal, and it might make sense for you,” Loomis said.
“That’s true for any player on your team. If you get an offer you can’t refuse, you at least have to look at it. So, that’s what I would say. I’m not actively trying to trade Marshon.
“Marshon is such a good player, he’s an elite corner. He’s had some injuries the last couple seasons that have kept him off the field, and we’ve got to get over that. It’s not his fault, it’s just circumstances. That’s just where we’re at.”
Where could Lattimore land? The Las Vegas Raiders, Jacksonville Jaguars, Indianapolis Colts, Houston Texans, Green Bay Packers, and Minnesota Vikings could be among the contenders interested in the veteran CB.
From a 3/3/24 article by John Sigler of Saints Wire as viewed at saintswire.usatoday.com
Excerpts:
There's a big misconception going around about Marshon Lattimore's contract
We got this interesting nugget from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, who emptied his notebook after a week in Indianapolis steakhouses, pubs, and other informal meeting-places.
And, based off what he’s learned, there’s a fierce market developing for talented cornerbacks. Fowler lists the Detroit Lions and Miami Dolphins among the teams looking to move most aggressively in upgrading their depth charts. And the New Orleans Saints could be in their crosshairs.
“Several teams believe Saints corner Marshon Lattimore — whose base salary is a paltry $1.2 million due to a restructure — is also available via a trade,” Fowler wrote. But that’s misleading.
While it’s true that Lattimore’s base salary is set at the league minimum of $1.21 million, that isn’t the only cost an acquiring team would have to pay. He’s also due to receive a $13.79 million roster bonus which will trigger one week before the start of the regular season, giving everyone involved a deadline to work out a deal. He’s going to receive $15 million in compensation from whichever team he’s playing for in the fall.
So while that lower base salary could make him more appealing to other teams in casual trade talks in March, teams are going to look at the situation with more scrutiny when they get down to brass tacks in June (when it’ll be easier for the Saints to trade Lattimore, for accounting purposes). Trading Lattimore before June 1 would cost the Saints a staggering $31.2 million in dead money. Waiting until after that date lessens the blow with charges of $10.6 million and $20.6 million in dead money for 2024 and 2025, respectively.
Stepping back to the beginning of the year when the Saints restructured Lattimore's contract, the 1/4/24 article below by John Sigler of Saints Wire breaks down what the restructure of the contract does. Here's some excerpts from that article:
Marshon Lattimore's unique contract restructure makes a trade more likely
An unusual contract restructure has made a trade more likely this offseason, or at least more acceptable for the Saints’ accountants.
Thanks to good reporting from NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill, we have a better understanding of this unique restructure. The majority of restructures that the Saints and other teams carry out are simple conversions of base salary to signing bonus, which makes it tougher to get out of those contracts.
In this case, Underhill reports, the Saints converted most of Lattimore’s salary to an option bonus that will be paid out a week before the 2024 season kicks off — and be paid by his new team, not New Orleans, in the event of a trade.
This restructure reduced his salary cap hit from $25.6 million to $14.6 million. If Lattimore is traded before June 1 (opening the door for compensation in 2024 draft picks), the Saints would have to pay more than $30.4 million in dead money while he’s playing for another team. If the draft pick compensation is strong enough it might make sense.
But if they wait until June 2, they would only pay $13.4 million in dead money in 2024 and roughly $20.8 million in 2025. That’s much easier to work with.
Here's what we know as of today, 7/20/24, with the Saints and Marshon Lattimore:
1. Lattimore is currently a member of the 2024 New Orleans Saints under contract and is expected to report to training camp next week.
2. June 1st, 2024 has passed. Trading Lattimore in the off season prior to that date would have been a major blow on the Saints dead cap for 2024.
3. The Saints 2024 season begins September 8th, 2024. One week prior to that date, Lattimore is due a $13.79 Million Dollar roster bonus payable by whichever team he is on.
4. Lattimore has a 2024 salary of $1.2 million dollars.
5. The NFL trade deadline is November 5th, 2024, which is the Tuesday after Week 9 games.
Are you sure about that, bruh? Do you have inside information from Loomis or Allen? Can you accurately predict what will happen between now and 11/5/24?
I'm now being told that some folks know it all. :confused: :shrug: