The start to the season hasn’t gone according to plan for the Washington Commanders, with some ugly losses, injuries, and certain players underperforming.
You can’t control injuries, but you can control performances, and the defense isn’t living up to the expectations so far. Some younger players have regressed, but this was supposed to be a bounce-back season for the secondary with the new additions and Marshon Lattimore being healthy. Nothing has changed for the veteran and four-time Pro Bowler, though.
The Commanders might need to make a serious change if Lattimore continues to be a liability.
Last season, the Commanders traded for an injured Lattimore from the New Orleans Saints, and he never had a chance to get fully healthy before taking on wide receivers like Mike Evans and A.J. Brown. This was supposed to be his year, though. He looked healthy in training camp, and he still does, but the product on the field is killing the team.
Offenses aren’t shying away from targeting Lattimore, and the results show why. Through four games, Lattimore has given up 11 catches for 173 yards and nine first downs. His past as an aggressive player follows him, as we saw last year, and he has been flagged six times in coverage. Teams know a first down is coming when they target him by either a big catch or some kind of penalty.
The results have simply been the worst-case scenario for the Commanders’ defense and front office, and it might be time to cut their losses as soon as possible.
Looking back at the trade, the Commanders sent a 2025 third-, fourth-, and sixth-round pick to the Saints for Lattimore and a 2025 fifth-round pick, along with his existing contract. The Commanders could’ve absolutely used those three picks they traded away for, even if they got a fifth back.
According to Spotrac, the Commanders could move on via a post-June 1 trade or release and save $16 million in cap space for 2025. Obviously, releasing him would sting with no real return on the trade for him just last year, so maybe a corner-needy team would trade a day three pick for him.
The best thing that can happen for the Commanders’ defense is for veteran cornerback Jonathan Jones to get healthy and take some reps as the outside corner in Lattimore’s place before they decide what to do with his future. Something needs to change soon, though, because the defense is costing the Commanders games.
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