Washington Commanders linebacker Bobby Wagner had some simple advice for cornerback Marshon Lattimore, who is expected to make his debut in burgundy and gold on Sunday against his former team, the New Orleans Saints.
“Just control your emotions, and then go crazy,” said Wagner, who played his first 10 seasons with the Seattle Seahawks before facing his former teammates as a member of the Los Angeles Rams. “Talk as much trash as you can.”
The Commanders added Lattimore at the trade deadline, shipping three draft picks to New Orleans for the lockdown corner. But a nagging hamstring issue has kept him off the field for more than a month.
This week’s practices marked the first time the 28-year-old was a full participant for Washington. His teammates and coaches were almost salivating as they discussed what the Ohio State product adds to a defense that has struggled to find consistent cornerback play throughout an otherwise successful season.
“It’s super exciting for him to get back out there, and I’m excited to play with him,” rookie cornerback Mike Sainristil said. “If I was him, in his position going against my former team, I’d love it. I’d be knowing those guys the best.”
Lattimore won’t be the only defender facing his former team at the Superdome on Sunday, though. Saints pass rusher Chase Young will square off against the franchise that selected him with the No. 2 pick in the 2020 NFL draft.
The Commanders traded the Maryland native to the San Francisco 49ers last season after an underwhelming three seasons in Washington. Young signed with the Saints this offseason as he looked to regain his spot in a starting rotation.
After a slow start this season, Young recorded one of the best games of his career last week against the New York Giants. He recorded a career-high 12 pressures on 40 pass-rushing snaps, according to Pro Football Focus, and received a game ball from Saints interim coach Darren Rizzi.
“I really feel like every week, particularly this last month, he’s played a little bit better every week,” Rizzi said. “We’re going to need him to do that again. When he’s making plays, our defense is better.”
The Commanders had two weeks to prepare for the 5-8 Saints after a dominant Week 13 win against the Tennessee Titans, but Washington’s defenders practiced without knowing which quarterback they’d face on Sunday.
Starting Saints quarterback Derek Carr is expected to miss Sunday’s game with a concussion and fracture in his left hand. Second-year passer Jake Haener was named the starter over rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler by Rizzi on Thursday in Carr’s absence.
Rizzi noted that he was waiting to name a starter until later in the week, partially to allow his passers to compete and to keep Washington’s defense on their toes.
“They’re both guys that throw the ball well; they’re both similar-size guys; their athletic ability is very similar,” Rizzi said Wednesday. “There’ll be some nuances in the game plan depending on which guy starts, naturally, but there’s not going to be this wholesale deal.”
With no clues from the Saints’ coaching staff until Thursday, the Commanders studied film on all three quarterbacks and focused on the constants within New Orleans’ offensive scheme.
“So, that’s where we put our time and our effort in,” Commanders coach Dan Quinn said. “It takes a little extra for the players, but you have to really train for what they do best and then work back from there.”
If the 8-5 Commanders win at least three of their remaining four games this season, they’ll cement their first playoff berth since 2020. A win on Sunday would push Washington closer to the postseason and secure the franchise’s first winning season since 2016.
The Commanders currently hold the third and final wild-card spot as the seventh seed in the NFC, but they could move up in the standings if the sixth-seeded Green Bay Packers falter down the stretch.
In conversations with the media, players and coaches insist that they aren’t looking ahead, though.
“The main thing, not just for me but the whole team, is we got four games,” rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels said. “Just go game by game and see where the chips fall.”
