Saints Pro Bowler Arrested by Police ‘Gang Unit’: Report

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New Orleans Saints CB Marshon Lattimore was arrested on March 25, according to reports.

New Orleans Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore, 24, was arrested by the “gang unit” in Cleveland, Ohio, late Thursday night on suspicion of receiving stolen property, according to Cleveland.com. The outlet said he was arrested around 10:30 p.m. on March 25 but had “not been formally charged.” That changed on Friday when he was charged with receiving stolen property.

According to a media release from Cleveland Police, they stopped a vehicle “for multiple traffic violations” and, after observing a Glock 19 handgun in the car, police say they found a loaded gun in Lattimore’s possession. They arrested him and charged him with failing to notify police that he was carrying a loaded firearm, as per Ohio state law, as well as receiving stolen property after they discovered the gun was reported stolen from Euclid, Ohio, the release said.

Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s DepartmentMarshon Lattimore’s booking photo.

Police said they also arrested the driver, Carl Willis, on charges of improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle, as well as two additional passengers, Kenyon Moon and Maurice Walton, who are charged with “having weapons while under disability,” which in Ohio includes while prohibited due to felony conviction, among other offenses.

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Lattimore’s NFL Career: A Brief History

Lattimore is a Cleveland native who attended Ohio State before the Saints took him in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft (No. 11 overall), making him the first cornerback selected that year. He has started all 57 games in which he has appeared and according to Pro Football Reference has recorded 230 total tackles (190 solo), along with 10 interceptions, 55 passes defended, five forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries.

He often plays an aggressive form of man-to-man coverage that has led to him being named to the Pro Bowl in three of his first four seasons (2017, 2019, 2020). He was also Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2017, a season in which he collected five interceptions.

Lattimore a Potential Trade Candidate?

Last May the Saints exercised the fifth-year option on Lattimore’s rookie contract, so he is entering his final year under that agreement and is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in 2022.

Per Over the Cap, Lattimore will earn a salary of $10.244 million in 2021 and count the same amount against the Saints’ salary cap. Past performance would suggest that Lattimore’s next contract could make him one of the better-compensated defensive backs in the NFL, despite some inconsistencies in his play. But with the Saints being one of the most cap-strapped teams in the league, he has been mentioned as a potential future trade candidate.

Both Jacksonville and Cleveland have been suggested as possible future destinations, as his former college coach, Urban Meyer, is now head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars. In Cleveland he could be reunited with friend and fellow former Buckeye Denzel Ward, who starts at cornerback for the Browns. Ward was drafted by Cleveland No. 4 overall in the 2018 NFL Draft.

In 2020 Lattimore started 14 games and was responsible for 62 total tackles along with 11 passes defensed, two tackles for loss and a pair of interceptions.

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