It was easy to be patient for Marshon Lattimore’s hamstring to heal over the past month. The Washington Commanders didn’t trade for the New Orleans cornerback to play midseason games. They wanted him for key December showdowns and January’s postseason run.
Finally, Lattimore appears ready for his debut . . . ironically, in New Orleans on Sunday. The Commanders return from their bye for four games that will determine their postseason fate and Lattimore is ready to heal one position that has plagued Washington for years.
New Orleans lost its starting quarterback, but coming opponents Philadelphia and Atlanta have top passers while the season-finale at Dallas follows an earlier loss to the Cowboys with their No. 2 passer. No lead has been safe for the Commanders this season because opponents could always score deep.
That should end with Lattimore. The eight-year veterans has been plagued by injuries over the last three seasons, but is still a major upgrade over Benjamin St-Juste. Lattimore can match up with bigger receivers and has speed to cover one-on-ones. His scrappiness in the end zone should prevent easy scores.
“To add a player of this caliber after the trade deadline so to speak, it just doesn't happen very often,” coach Dan Quinn said. “And, every once in a while, there might be a player that comes back off an IR that had an injury that was there, and there is an energy that goes along with that.”
Lattimore doesn’t need to be a leader. The defense has several in linebackers Bobby Wagner and Franklin Luvu plus safety Jeremy Chinn and even cornerback Mike Sainristil. But, the past month has helped Lattimore get in sync via meetings and limited practices to not be naked and afraid when finally taking the field with new teammates. It only takes a slight misunderstanding for a receiver to run free for a touchdown. It has happened all too often for many years in Washington.
“We're really pumped to have him and get rolling with him,” Quinn said. “But it does take a few games to get into that rhythm with new people. But, it can change the math, there's no doubt about that.
“It's important getting into the reps and going through that over the next month. Because then collectively, how do I communicate with him? There's an eye signal. I mean a nonverbal call. Those kinds of things that you don't necessarily see at practice that happen in the game. And so that experience is really valuable, too.”
Is Lattimore the final piece to get Washington into the postseason and maybe advance a round or more? Quinn concedes this season has exceeded first-year expectations for the new staff after 4-13 last year,
“I didn't put a timetable on it to say there had to be something by this marker or this date,” Quinn said. “[General Manager] Adam [Peters] and I wanted to go after it together as hard as we could and keep our head down to go. . . . But it's been like a really cool journey so far.”
For Lattimore, it’s just the start.