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Sainristil immediately won the starting slot cornerback job, but after the secondary had multiple issues in the opening weeks of the season, the Commanders kicked him outside and he steadily improved over the course of the season. He came up with two huge interceptions in the playoff win over the Lions, one of which was a truly exceptional play that showed the upside in his game.
The Commanders happen to play the exact coverage that the Lions were looking for. They play quarters coverage and you can see how safety Quan Martin attaches to the basic cross from the slot receiver. That leaves cornerback Mike Sainristil on the outside in a really tough position. He’s playing with outside leverage against a post route where he should have help inside but actually doesn’t. On top of that, he’s doing it against one of the fastest receivers in the league. But Saintstil plays this perfectly. He keeps his cushion to try and stay on top of Jameson Williams vertical threat. Once Williams breaks inside to the post, Sainristil gets a strong idea of what the offense is trying to do. Instead of trying to stay on top of the route, he gets aggressive and goes for the ball by undercutting the route. He times it perfectly and arrives in front of Williams as the ball does, intercepting the pass in the end zone.
However, playing outside wasn’t always the plan for Sainristil. He was drafted to play in the slot, largely because of his size. At his size, he’s more suited to playing inside.
The decision by the Commanders to design new alternate uniforms comes in light of the NFL making multiple adjustments to their uniform policies in recent years. In 2021, the NFL approved an update that allowed teams to wear alternate helmets in the 2022 season; in 2024, the league expanded upon that policy to allow a third alternate helmet design; and earlier this year, the league informed teams that they could wear throwback or alternate jersey up to four times per season — up one more from the previous three.
The Commanders currently have three uniform combinations: their home jersey, which features burgundy as the primary color; their white jerseys worn during away games; and their all-black alternate uniforms, which features homages to the military as well as Washington, D.C. The team also brought back their gold pants, which debuted last season, as a nod to its historic past.
Not much is known about the Commanders’ new alternate uniforms, other than that the helmet will feature the Commanders’ “W” that was reveals...
