For Commanders CB Marshon Lattimore, Week 15 at the Saints is Personal

Washington Commanders cornerback Marshon Lattimore has a big weekend coming up professionally and personally.

Jan 1, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; New Orleans Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore (23) celebrates his interception return for a touchdown during the fourth quarter against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images / Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

Marshon Lattimore has played big-time football for exactly two teams, but on Sunday he'll play for his third, the Washington Commanders.

Playing his college ball with the Ohio State Buckeyes Lattimore wasn't part of the transfer portal generation that is taking shape today, and before being traded to the Commanders this November he only played for the team that drafted him in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft.

And after playing his first seven full seasons with the New Orleans Saints his first game with Washington will be against that same franchise. Unlike some other players in the past, Lattimore isn't shying away from the emotions that come with the moment.

Jan 1, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; New Orleans Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore (23) celebrates his interception return for a touchdown during the fourth quarter against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images / Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

"I'd be lying if I say it didn't. They traded me away," Lattimore said when asked if this game was more personal to him. "I'm going back to show them why they shouldn't have. I'm happy where I'm at, but you know how it be. Extra motivation for the game, that's all."

It isn't like the Saints believed Lattimore wasn't a solid player, but after being named to four Pro Bowls in his first five NFL seasons the All-Pro caliber defender played in just 17 games in the following two.

This season, before being traded, he appeared in seven, but some wondered if a team in the state New Orleans is wouldn't benefit more from getting the draft haul it did - three picks in the 2025 NFL Draft - than keeping the player.

On the flip side, the Commanders found themselves well ahead of the schedule a usual rebuild - or retooling as they put it - takes, and considering the talent Lattimore brings when healthy they determined he was worth the gamble.

For a short period, there are going to be those who determine which team won the trade this weekend. But the reality is that the decision is going to have to wait until years down the road and will be made with the benefit of hindsight.

Regardless of what history will say about the trade, it means one thing for Lattimore. One team thought something else was worth more than him - and he wants to prove them wrong.

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