Commanders 3rd yr CB Mike Sainristil gets nod over newly-signed Rasul Douglas - Reacts survey results
LANDOVER, MD - OCTOBER 13: Mike Sainristil #0 of the Washington Commanders reacts to a play against the Chicago Bears during the first half at Northwest Stadium on October 13, 2025 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) | Getty ImagesIn this week's Reacts survey, we offered a short list of CB names from the Commanders roster and asked which of them would get the most defensive snaps in 2026. Implicit in the question was that Trey Amos would be healthy to open the season and would be one of the two starting CBs.
Defensive changes and strong competition
The question was driven by the signing, at the start of this week, of Rasul Douglas, who, like Trey Amos, is really an outside corner (though he did once have an 8-game stretch with the Packers playing primarily in the slot).
Meanwhile, Mike Sainristil, a 2024 Commanders draft pick, and Amik Robertson, one of the team's first free agent signings of the 26 offseason, are - along with safety Quan Martin - more natural slot defenders, though both Robertson and Sainristil have been called on to play out wide quite a lot in their careers to-date.
The survey question required respondents to balance multiple factors, not all completely known or understood.
For example, how often will Daronte Jones rely on 3-safety looks? And when he does, will that take a linebacker off the field or a cornerback?
Will Mike Sainristil be a starter or a backup, and will he align primarily as a slot defender or outside? The same questions apply to Amik Robertson.
And, what is Rasul Douglas' role in 2026? Does his 1-yr contract indicate that he is a less important role player, or that he will use the 26 season as a key player in Washington's defensive turnaround in hopes of a bigger 2027 payday? Does his late-offseason addition to the roster in July indicate that the team was signing him as some kind of lower priority, or could it imply that Douglas carefully reviewed his options and made a careful choice to join the team that would offer him the best opportunity to play and succeed this year?
Honestly, we won't know the answers to these questions for sure until at least partway through training camp, and, more likely, until part way into the regular season.
But Hogs Haven readers have spoken.
Mike Sainristil
By more than 3:1, respondents are clear that they believe in the team's incumbent starting CB and 2024 2nd-round draft pick Mike Sainristil will play more defensive snaps in 2026 than newly-signed free agent Rasul Douglas (or any other cornerback on the roster).
It appears that the majority of fans are convinced that Mikey will be the starting outside cornerback in Daronte Jones' defense, which is expected to shift to a predominately zone-cover scheme, playing to the strengths of the former Wolverine wearing the 0" jersey.
If Sainristil starts on the outside, that likely means that Amik Robertson plays as the primary slot corner. I don't think the coaches would want, for example, to have Rasul Douglas or Ahkello Witherspoon, in nickel coverage, to come off the bench and align wide, with Mikey moving down into the slot.
View Link
Wherever Sainristil predominately aligns on the field this season, I think the priority of the coaches will be to have him play it consistently. Clearly, most respondents in this week's survey expect to see the 3rd-year corner to spend most of his time lining up opposite last year's 2nd-round pick, Trey Amos.
Rasul Douglas
That would relegate Rasul Douglas to the role of backing up Trey Amos and Mikey Sainristil (unless Amos, who hasn't been on the practice field yet this offseason, is not fully recovered from his 2025 injury, and Douglas is expected to open the season as the team's starter until Amos is ready to play).
It would certainly be a huge change for Douglas to shift to the role of full-time backup. Per Pro Football Reference, he has played between 87% and 91% of the defensive snaps in each of the past 6 seasons (2021-25).
A fifth of the respondents in our survey seem to think that Douglas will actually be the guy who aligns opposite Trey Amos most of the time.
Competition, competition, competition
In any event, regardless of who ends up starting, who ends up backing up, and which positions are filled by which secondary players, the defensive secondary training camp battle will not only be interesting to follow, it is likely to be one of the key factors in laying the foundation for a successful 2026 season.
And all of the training camp and preseason battles are really not very far away now; rookies are scheduled to report on July 24th; veterans are scheduled for the 28th, and if I read the memo correctly, the local media should be on hand to see the 91 players that currently comprise the current roster take the field together for the first time starting on July 29th.
Buckle up. It should be fun!