Lions encouraged to consider acquiring a $97 million CB from cap-restricted team.

The NFL announced a significant increase in the league’s wage cap for the 2024 season on February 23. However,

the New Orleans Saints will remain in a grave cap predicament. ESPN’s Aaron Schatz said that the Detroit Lions may

take advantage of New Orleans’ terrible situation and trade for 4-time Pro Bowl cornerback Marshon Lattimore.

The Lions were one of three teams Schatz suggested would be interested in trading for Lattimore this summer.

“Once again, there will need to be a series of cuts and restructures to make it just so the Saints can sign their rookie

draft class,” Schatz stated in an email. “One controversial way to get some space might be to move cornerback

Lattimore to another team.”

Lattimore’s cap hit for the 2024 season is scheduled at $14.6 million. His cap hit would be substantially higher in the

2025 and 2026 seasons.

However, Lattimore may be less expensive for his acquiring team. The Lions and Saints would have to iron out the

actual financial details of the transaction.

Prior to the 2021 season, the Saints signed Lattimore to a 5-year, $97.6 million contract agreement. He’s spent his

whole seven-year NFL career in New Orleans.

The NFL revealed that the wage cap will rise by an extraordinary $30 million or more for the 2024 season. The

salary cap for this fall is officially set at $255.4 million per team.

So the Saints aren’t as awful as Schatz claimed (his article was written before the salary cap hike announcement).

However, Over the Cap stated that the Saints are still more than $40 million over the salary cap.

According to Schatz, “painful” cuts are coming to New Orleans in one form or another. The Saints could at least get

something in return for Lattimore if they traded him.