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The market rate for top-level cornerbacks surged this week as new contract extensions were hammered out for big names around the league. Buffalo Bills corner Tre’Davious White raised the bar by signing a deal averaging $17.5 million per season, and Los Angeles Rams defender Jalen Ramsey leaped it by earning his own payday at $21 million per year.
While he’s under contract through 2021 after the New Orleans Saints triggered his fifth-year option, this movement spells out great news for 24-year old cornerback Marshon Lattimore. Lattimore is younger than both White and Ramsey, and is one of the next free agents-to-be at their position due for an extension (along with Seattle Seahawks star Shaquill Griffin).
Should the Saints be in a hurry to address Lattimore’s contract situation? They do have team control for the next two seasons, but his value will only keep going up the longer they wait. He’ll have grounds to demand the same rate as Ramsey, if not more should Griffin or other players raise the price even higher. And that’s before you consider that the salary cap is expected to plummet down to at least $175 million next summer.
For context, here are Lattimore’s regular season stats compared against White and Ramsey since 2018, per Pro Football Reference:
- Marshon Lattimore: 30 games played, 3 interceptions and 26 passes defensed, 4 forced fumbles (3 recovered), 102 completions on 178 targets (57.3%) for 1,492 passing yards (3.4 receptions and 49.7 yards per game allowed) and 6 touchdown passes
- Tre’Davious White: 31 games played, 8 interceptions and 25 passes defensed, 2 forced fumbles (0 recovered), 85 completions on 163 targets (52.1%) for 1,087 passing yards (2.7 receptions and 35.1 yards per game allowed) and 2 touchdown passes
- Jalen Ramsey: 28 games played (19 with Jaguars, 9 with Rams), 4 interceptions and 18 passes defensed, 2 forced fumbles (0 recovered), 106 completions on 181 targets (58.6%) for 1,405 passing yards (3.8 receptions and 50.2 yards per game allowed) and 4 touchdown passes
If anything, White should have waited a few days for Ramsey’s contract to get finalized. Lattimore is certainly going to benefit from it. While they’re each very different players — White plays his best football in zone coverage, while Lattimore and Ramsey stand out more in bump-and-run man coverage — and hold different meaning to their teams, each of them is at the forefront in a wave of rising salaries around the league.
So what do you think? Should the Saints keep Lattimore’s big extension on the back burner and focus on deals closer to expiration? Or should they get out in front of this thing and try to strike while the iron is hot, and before it’ll cost them even more salary cap resources?
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