John Keim
ASHBURN, Va. — Washington Commanders cornerback Marshon Lattimore not only returned to the facility this week, he hopes he has returned to being the player he once was with New Orleans.
A hamstring injury changed his game and prevented him from making the impact both he and the Commanders desired. But more than five months after the season ended, Lattimore said he likes how he’s feeling, mainly because his hamstring is healthy — and that has allowed him to be in better shape.
“I feel way better than last year,” he said. “I feel explosive.”
If that continues into the season, it would help the Commanders’ defense quite a bit. Washington traded a third-, fourth- and sixth-round pick for Lattimore (and a fifth-round selection) in November because it lacked a strong outside corner with Benjamin St-Juste struggling and rookie Mike Sainristil best suited as a slot corner.
But Lattimore, a four-time Pro Bowler, was dealing with a hamstring injury at the time. It sidelined him for his first four games with Washington. He wasn’t targeted in his debut against his former team, but a week later allowed multiple big plays to Philadelphia’s A.J. Brown.
“I felt a little timid, not mentally but I could tell watching my game film by the way I was stepping,” he said. “I looked timid in my game.”
He played all three postseason games, having some issues against Tampa’s Mike Evans and again against the Eagles — which came after a solid game against Detroit. Against the Eagles, he allowed a key fourth-down pass to Brown and was later called for pass interference in the end zone.
Lattimore said he felt internal pressure to play.
“I wanted to prove they made the right decision,” he said. “I wanted to show what I could do. I was hurt but I don’t want to make excuses. I was out there. If I was good enough to play, I can be evaluated on that. I just want to get out there this year to show what I could do.”
Lattimore opted to skip the voluntary workouts this spring, as he did at times in New Orleans. During minicamp practices, he has aggressively driven on receivers when they cut on a route — sometimes leading to trouble, other times to breakups. It led to one pass breakup against receiver Noah Brown on Wednesday.
But the results of the play aren’t the focus right now for Lattimore. It’s how he feels.
“Just the burst, getting out of my breaks,” he said. “Dealing with a hamstring takes a lot out of you; it takes a long time to heal.”
Jason Simmons, the Commanders’ defensive pass game coordinator, said Lattimore never told them how much the hamstring injury impacted his play. Staying healthy will be the big key for Lattimore this season after playing in only 26 games combined the past three years.
“The only thing he’ll tell you is, ‘I can play,'” Simmons said. “So I can’t speak to how it affected him but he is coming back with a chip on his shoulder. He’s a talented player and wants to get back to the form that he has played his entire career.”
