The Minnesota Vikings are desperate at cornerback following Mekhi Blackmon‘s season-ending knee injury this week, which could open the possibility for the team to trade for New Orleans Saints Pro Bowler Marshon Lattimore.
The cost to land Lattimore wouldn’t be much. Over The Cap’s Jason Fitzgerald projected it to take a fifth-round pick to pry Lattimore away from the Saints.
Lattimore is an ultra-competitive cornerback who can play press and off-coverage. He won Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2017 and made four Pro Bowls in his first five seasons. Lattimore has struggled with injury the past two seasons — a lacerated kidney in 2022 and an ankle injury in 2023 that has caused him to miss 17 games in that span.
Those injuries are more freak accidents than wear and tear of the position. The bigger reason for the trade chatter would be the Saints, who are currently $91.6 million over next year’s salary cap, needing to shed veteran contracts.
Lattimore just turned 28 years old and still has several years left in his prime. Entering last season, Pro Football Focus (PFF) ranked him the No. 7 cornerback in the league. However, inconsistencies in coverage and his injuries have led to him falling in the position rankings.
The Cleveland, Ohio native has only played for the Saints, and a change of scenery could help him reassert himself as one of the league’s best corners — especially with the help of Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores.
A recent restructuring in Lattimore’s contract has signaled that the Saints are open to trading him by next March, and the Vikings can choose the terms on the amount of risk they could take in the trade.
Vikings Have Options With Saints CB Marshon Lattimore
GettySaimts cornerback Marshon Lattimore (23) celebrates.
Lattimore signed a five-year, $97.6 million contract in 2021 and has three more active years remaining. After several restructures, Lattimore’s contract makes him tradeable for any team, offering both short- or long-term investment in him and the help of the Saints’ covering portions of his contract.
According to Fitzgerald, A potential trade suitor could exercise an option bonus in his contract and pay only $3.9 million this season, with larger cap hits scheduled in the remaining years.
Here’s a table from Over The Cap to illustrate the structure of his contract with the option:
Year
Salary Cap Charge
Dead Money
2024
$3,968,000
$13,790,000
2025
$20,758,000
$11,032,000
2026
$21,258,000
$8,274,000
2027 (void)
$5,516,000
$5,516,000
The other route would be to decline the option and pay him his remaining guaranteed salary. That would mean a $15 million cap hit for the 2024 season, but there would be zero guaranteed money remaining in future years of the deal.
A team taking this option could cut him at no cost if he doesn’t pan out in 2024.
Year
Salary Cap Charge
Dead Money
2024
$15,000,000
$12,000,000
2025
$18,000,000
$0
2026
$18,500,000
$0
2027 (void)
$0
$0
Vikings Have the Financial Freedom to Roll the Dice on Lattimore
GettySaints cornerback Marshon Lattimore
The Vikings currently have $19.1 million in cap space and can afford to pay him outright this year or lay away his guaranteed money onto future cap years.
Byron Murphy Jr. and Shaq Griffin are poised for starting roles, but outside of the two veterans are only unproven prospects. Akayleb Evans has lacked consistency in his career, while Andrew Booth Jr. has struggled to carve out a role with Flores.
At the cost of a fifth-round pick, the Vikings could trial-run Lattimore or plan for him to be a building block in the secondary for several more years as they develop their cornerback depth.
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