Could the end soon be near for Washington Commanders cornerback Mike Sainristil?
The 2024 second-round pick had an impressive rookie season, followed by an up-and-down — mostly down — 2025 season. In 2026, Sainristil’s struggles have continued, and he’s now apparently benched.
Over four weeks, here are Sainristil’s snap counts per game:
- Week 1 vs. Eagles: 54 (98%)
- Week 2 vs. Cowboys: 45 (82%)
- Week 3 vs. Seahawks: 26 (39%)
- Week 4 vs. Colts: 5 (8%)
Before this season, even during last season’s struggles, Sainristil was one of the players on the field for 97% or more of Washington’s defensive snaps each week.
Those days are gone.
While Pro Football Focus has its issues these days, Sainristil has a 29.1 overall grade, ranking 101st in the NFL out of 101 qualified cornerbacks. If you watch Sainristil, that PFF grade passes the eye test. His struggles are real.
The Commanders’ cornerback room keeps evolving. Amik Robertson is No. 1, with Rasul Douglas serving as the No. 2 cornerback. Fabian Moreau looks as if he's now surpassed Sainristil as No. 4 on Washington’s depth chart. Veteran Isaac Yiadom is also on the roster.
Here’s a question: What happens when Trey Amos returns? You have to clear a spot. Will the Commanders move on from a cornerback? Could that cornerback be Sainristil?
Something interesting happened on Tuesday. Washington worked out three players — all cornerbacks. One of those names was Antonio Hamilton, who spent time with the Commanders last season and was released during final cuts.
The Commanders worked out 3 DBs: CB Marcus Allen, CB Antonio Hamilton and S Jack Henderson.
— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) October 7, 2026
Hamilton was with the team last season and through training camp.
Before you assume the worst about Sainristil, all 32 NFL teams work out players every week. No surprise there. It just happened to be three cornerbacks on Tuesday. That makes sense, considering the PittsburghSteelers signed practice squad cornerback Terell Smith off Washington’s practice squad.
So while the tryouts may have nothing to do with Sainristil, the Amos situation is worth watching. Once he’s healthy, he’ll return to the starting lineup, pushing every player behind him down one spot on the depth chart.
Regardless, Sainristil's future in Washington is murkier than ever.
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Could end be near for former Commanders' second-round pick?
