New Orleans Saints Head Coach Delivers Promising Update On Marshon Lattimore Trade Rumors

After months of trade rumors spiraling around star cornerback Marshon Lattimore, Saints head coach Dennis Allen says positive conversation has paved the way for them to move forward.

Jan 1, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; New Orleans Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore (23) / Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

The talk of the New Orleans Saints’ offseason has been the future of one of their star players. Monday morning, ahead of the team’s Organized Team Activities starting up, a promising tone overtook the otherwise gloomy outlook. 

At the Saints’ annual Hall of Fame Celebrity Golf Classic, head coach Dennis Allen spoke with members of the media. When asked about the trade rumors circulating cornerback Marshon Lattimore, Allen delivered a promising update. 

“I had a conversation with him,” Allen said. “Probably two or three weeks ago. I thought it was a positive conversation. And so we’re moving forward.”

This would not be the first time Allen has patched up the relationship with an otherwise (at least rumored to be) disgruntled player. Back in 2022 when he assumed the role of head coach, he was able to speak with former Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas and managed to alleviate concerns enough for Thomas to return to the team for another two seasons. 

While the end of Thomas’ tenure was not as positive as many would have hoped, the two were able to get two more seasons together out of the relationship. Ideally, things similarly move forward with Lattimore, though with a better long-term resolution. 

Should Lattimore indeed take the field for the Saints in 2024, which is looking all the more likely now, the team will be flush with cornerback talent. Fellow comers Alontae Taylor and Paulson Adebo are currently set to return and New Orleans also added rookie Kool-Aid McKinstry in this year’s NFL draft. They will not be short for starting-caliber coverage players in 2024. 

The question would then turn to whether or not one of the other returning veterans becomes expendable and thus traded away, whether or not Adebo will be extended before or during this season (the Saints do have a habit of extending a defensive player in the first few weeks of the schedule) and who will line up where. 

While Lattimore and Adebo are the obvious answers on the outside, will Taylor get the opportunity to show he has grown as a slot corner? Or maybe the bigger question is whether or not that is even what he wants. 

Things are looking up for the Saints and Lattimore. However even with those concerns potentially quelled, the position is not lacking for intriguing storylines.