The last time Jayden Daniels played in the Superdome, he was making his LSU debut, starting a new chapter in his college career that would lead him to win the Heisman Trophy a year ago.
The last time Marshon Lattimore played in the NFL, he was wearing a New Orleans Saints uniform in what turned out to be his final game with the team that drafted him 11th overall in 2017.
Both players are expected to return to the dome on Sunday with the Washington Commanders (8-5), who will try to defeat the Saints (5-8), who have recently found some form.
“I’m excited to go back and be able to play in the state of Louisiana again,” said Daniels, who had the chance to attend some Saints home games during the two years he spent in Baton Rouge, about an 80-mile drive up the Mississippi River from New Orleans.
“It is going to be fun,” Daniels said. “Superdome gets pretty loud and they’re rolling. So, we’ll go out there, we’ll see what we could do and compete.”
Whether the Saints are really “rolling” is up for debate. They narrowly won last week against the struggling New York Giants, thanks to a late blocked field goal. But New Orleans also lost starting quarterback Derek Carr to a concussion and an injury to his left, non-throwing hand, which is expected to keep him out this weekend and possibly longer.
On Thursday night, interim Saints coach Darren Rizzi told the team that second-year player Jake Haener would make his first career start this week.
New Orleans’ victory last week was their third in four games since third-year coach Dennis Allen was fired and replaced by Rizzi, who had been the team’s special teams coordinator since 2019. However, the Saints haven’t beaten any team with a winning record this season.
Now, New Orleans must try to stop the dual-threat Daniels, who hasn’t looked like a rookie. Daniels has a 69.6% completion rate and only six interceptions.
“Those are usually the things, when you’re dealing with a rookie quarterback, that you don’t see,” Rizzi said. “It’s not like they got him out there just managing the game. … He’s got some highlight film plays, too.”
“To sit here and say that he’s only 13 games into his professional career, his body of work has been really impressive,” Rizzi added, mentioning that Daniels’ ability to make big plays with his legs will challenge a Saints defense that has struggled against mobile quarterbacks. “He’s going to be more dangerous than maybe every quarterback we’ve played.”
Lattimore’s return
The Saints traded Marshon Lattimore more than a month ago, ending his nearly eight-year career with New Orleans. During his time with the team, he won defensive rookie of the year in 2017 and was selected to the Pro Bowl four times.
While the Saints considered Lattimore their best defensive back and often placed him in single coverage against the opposing team’s top receivers, his last few seasons were affected by injuries. This made the five-year, $97 million extension he signed in 2021 harder for New Orleans to justify.
“Marshon’s as good a corner as I’ve seen,” Rizzi said. “There’s really not a guy in the league that he can’t cover.”
Rizzi also pointed out the “irony” of Lattimore — who was traded on Nov. 5 and hasn’t played since Oct. 27 — making his Washington debut in New Orleans.
“We traded him what seems like a long time ago,” Rizzi said. “But it just so happens — happenstance — it’s against us. So, all good.”
Rizzi expects plenty of interaction between Lattimore and his former teammates on the field.
“Any time you have one of those homecoming games, if you will, there’s always a little extra added juice to it,” Rizzi said. “I’m sure there’ll be some yapping going on.”
