Getty
Commanders cornerback Marshon Lattimore.
The Washington Commanders made a significant roster decision on Thursday, February 19 that is liable to bring considerable scrutiny to the front office and coaching staff.
Washington announced plans to cut ties with cornerback Marshon Lattimore ahead of the NFL free agency period, which begins on March 11.
“The Commanders will release Marshon Lattimore ahead of the new league year, which clears an additional $18.5 million in cap space,” Evan Sidery reported on social media. “Washington traded three 2025 draft picks to the [New Orleans] Saints last year for Lattimore.”
The Commanders will release Marshon Lattimore ahead of the new league year, which clears an additional $18.5 million in cap space.
Washington traded three 2025 draft picks to the Saints last year for Lattimore.
Lattimore’s $97.6 million contract had one year remaining, though the Commanders will face no dead cap hit for their decision to release him.
Marshon Lattimore’s Play Deteriorated Significantly in Recent Years
GettyFormer Washington Commanders cornerback Marshon Lattimore.
The four-time Pro Bowl defensive back, who will play next season at 30 years old, will become an unrestricted free agent next month and can sign with any team interested.
The level of interest in Lattimore around the NFL is the biggest unknown in the equation after he was one of the worst high-volume cornerbacks in the league in 2025.
Health was an issue, as he played in just nine games for Washington, which went from 12-5 and an NFC Championship Game appearance in 2024 to 5-12 and one game out of last place in a weak NFC East Division last season.
Lattimore produced seven pass breakups and one interception for the campaign. He also registered one tackle for loss and recovered a fumble.
Once a premier cover cornerback in the NFL, Lattimore finished with an overall player ranking of 96th out of 114 CBs who saw enough snaps to qualify in 2025, per Pro Football Focus.
Washington cut bait with Lattimore after just 11 games played over one and a half seasons on the roster. The Commanders sent New Orleans picks in the third, fourth and sixth rounds of the 2025 draft in a deal ahead of the mid-season trade deadline in 2024.
While the Commanders avoided the loss of any premium draft assets for the aging DB, the team is still liable to face criticism for passing up three shots at young players on rookie contracts who could have filled several voids on a roster that entered the 2025 season as the oldest in the league.
Dan Quinn Made Major Changes to Commanders’ Coaching Staff Following Last Season
GettyWashington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn.
Washington finished last season with the worst defense in the league, ranking 32nd in total yardage allowed at 384 yards per game. The pass defense itself was 28th in the league, surrendering 242.5 yards through the air per contest.
Head coach Dan Quinn, who comes from a background as a defensive coordinator both before and after his days as head coach of the Atlanta Falcons (2015-20), fired former Commanders DC Joe Whitt Jr. in January following the team’s regression in Quinn’s second year at the helm. Quinn also cut ties with offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury early last month.
Washington has since hired Daronte Jones as its defensive coordinator and elevated David Blough from a job as the Commanders’ assistant quarterbacks coach to run the offense. Jones most recently served as the defensive pass game coordinator/defensive backs coach for the Minnesota Vikings for the past two seasons.
Max Dible covers the NFL, NBA and MLB for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears and Cleveland Browns. He covered local and statewide news as a reporter for West Hawaii Today and served as news director for BigIslandNow.com and Pacific Media Group’s family of Big Island radio stations before joining Heavy. More about Max Dible
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