Listed at 5-foot-10 and 183 pounds, cornerback Mike Sainristil is the smallest player on the Washington Commanders’ roster.
That has never been seen as a problem because of the Michigan product's savvy and toughness. But as Sainristil has struggled for much of this season, questions about his size have started to crop up.
The common wisdom was that Sainristil would thrive this year because he would be able to move to his more natural slot corner position.
He was forced to play on the perimeter in 2024 due to injuries. A healthy Marshon Lattimore and talented rookie Trey Amos would take over on the outside in 2025, and Sainristil would move inside, where his ability to diagnose plays would make him a force in the middle of the field.
At least, that was the plan.
Mike Sainristil had some good moments as Commanders' primary boundary corner
Sainristil has been part of the Commanders’ defense that has severely regressed in 2025. He has not been the main culprit, but he has been a part of the collapse. After missing seven tackles all of last season, he has missed six in 2025. That has driven his missed-tackle percentage up to over 10 after hovering around seven as a rookie.
Now that the Commanders have lost both Lattimore and Amos, Sainristil is once again being asked to move outside. The Week 11 matchup with the Miami Dolphins marked his first 2025 game on the perimeter.
Results were mixed.
Miami came into the game prepared to run the ball. They were often in 12 personnel with double tight ends, and many times went even further by bringing in an extra offensive lineman. That led to many tight formations, in which Sainristil was matched up against tight end Greg Dulcich.
Because the Dolphins rarely sent a receiver wide to the left, Sainristil, playing the defense’s right side the entire day, was often lined up in the box. At first glance, it looked as if he really hadn’t changed positions at all — only sides of the field. He often appeared to be playing a traditional slot corner role.
But he was not. He was usually responsible for the outside receiver, and that seemed to limit his aggressiveness in run support. Sainristil was rarely involved in a tackle if it didn’t come as part of his coverage role. The fact that the Dolphins continually attacked the other side of the defense successfully also left him with little to do on many plays.
It was a bit of a mixed bag. In coverage, he looked solid. Being on the outside, even against bigger receivers, didn’t seem to bother him. One of the few times he was tasked with sticking to the dangerous Jaylen Waddle, he stayed with the speedy wideout all the way across the field in blanket coverage and probably should have had an interception.
Waddle did beat him on a deep cross at one point, but Sainristril was in good position. He was let down on that play by safety Quan Martin, who should have cleaned up the play after a moderate gain.
Martin, who is struggling more than Sainristil this season, missed another tackle on the play, resulting in a considerable gain. The only other time he was beaten cleanly was on a short out to Malik Washington early in the game.
Sainristil’s sticky coverage played a big part in sacks by both Jacob Martin and Jonathan Jones. On both plays, Miami’s quarterback Tua Tagovailoa looked first to his side of the field before moving on to his next read.
The tackling was also up and down. He had a clean miss on Dulcich early and was embarrassed by the Dolphins' Julian Hill early in the second half. Sainristil, who gives up about 70 pounds to the tight end, could not get him on the ground.
But he played very well on Washington’s second goal-line stand, helping Frankie Luvu stonewall Ollie Gordon II on the goal line, and then being part of the excellent coverage that forced an incompletion on fourth down.
As a cornerback, Sainristil covered well and was about average as a tackler. But he will probably be remembered more for a play he made on special teams.
Late in the fourth quarter, with regular punt returner Jaylin Lane out of the game, Sainristil went back to field a kick from Miami’s Jake Bailey. He has never returned a punt in the NFL. He did it just twice in college. The last time was in 2020. It’s hard to figure out any earthly reason why he was back there, but apparently, the Commanders did not have any better options.
He muffed the punt, giving the ball back to the Dolphins with an excellent chance to win the game in regulation. That didn’t happen, in part due to a mind-boggling decision by Mike McDaniel to eschew a potential chip-shot field goal in the closing seconds. Just as Sainristil was bailed out, Miami’s coach was also granted a reprieve when Matt Gay missed his second field goal of the game a minute later.
In all, it was a messy, maddening game that symbolizes how virtually everything that went right for the Commanders in 2024 is going wrong in 2025.
As for Sainristil? Fans can at least take minor solace in the fact that he did look a little more comfortable playing outside, although whether that is a legitimate long-term solution remains to be seen.