Marshon Lattimore was one of the biggest names dealt at the trade deadline, as the Saints sent the cornerback and a fifth-round pick to the Washington Commanders in exchange for third-, fourth-, and sixth-round picks in the 2025 NFL Draft. This is a steep price to pay for a cornerback, but the Commanders needed to do something drastic to fix their defense and improve their odds of winning it all. However, this deal almost didn’t happen, as Chiefs General Manager Brett Veach recently revealed Kansas City tried to land the cornerback.

According to Nate Taylor of The Atheltic, Veach said that the Chiefs tried to trade for Marshon Lattimore but ultimately weren’t comfortable giving up a third-round pick and change for his services.

“We understoood that a [2025 third-round pick] might be involved, but we had to retain some [draft picks]. We approached New Orleans and wanted to do some different pick-swap ideas. If that was last year, we wouldn’t have made that call. But there was a sense of, ‘Hey, if we can do this and not mortgage our future completely, then let’s try it.”

Chiefs, Saints, Nearly Agreed to Marshon Lattimore Trade

The Chiefs may have dodged a bullet by missing out on the Marshon Lattimore trade. While the four-time Pro Bowler was one of the best in the league at the peak of his career, he can’t seem to shake the injury bug. Even though the trade went down weeks ago, the cornerback has yet to step on the field for his new team. Perhaps he can make an impact down the stretch, but right now the Commanders are on a three-game losing streak and are effectively out of the NFC East race.

This isn’t the first time Lattimore has struggled to stay on the field. The cornerback played in just 17 total games from 2022 to 2023, and his injury woes continued into 2024. No longer elite when on the field, New Orleans sold high and should be thrilled with the return in the Lattimore trade. However, while the Chiefs benefitted from not executing the trade, they still need more help in the secondary.

Possible Help

While the Chiefs didn’t get Marshon Lattimore, they did add wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins and edge defender Josh Uche during the trade deadline. These two, along with free agent signee D.J. Humphries, will address most of Kansas City’s lingering needs, but the cornerback position is still a question mark. Former first-round pick Trent McDuffie is still one of the best in the game, but Jaylen Watson’s season-ending injury creates a glaring hole at the CB2 position.

Good players are hard to find at this point in the season, but free agent Xavien Howard is probably the best player available. A former second-round pick, the 2020 First-Team All-Pro isn’t the player he once was but still has a strong nose for the ball. Nazeeh Johnson, Christian Roland-Wallace, and Joshua Williams have all struggled throughout the season, and the present-day version of Howard should still be good enough to earn a role in this secondary. The Chiefs aren’t as good as their 11-1 record suggests, so taking a low-risk, medium-reward roll of the dice on Howard could be their best shot at winning three Super Bowls in as many seasons.

Main Photo: Jayne Kamin-Oncea – USA Today Sports