John Bates and 4 Commanders whose stock is tumbling entering the bye week

Percy Butler - Commanders S

Percy Butler was forced into action last season when free safety Darrick Forrest was injured. He performed adequately, though it often appeared that he was better suited to playing in the box as a strong safety.

The Washington Commanders are already invested in Jeremy Chinn in that position. His performance levels have been up and down, but he has shown the ability to make more plays than Butler if used properly.

The Commanders have steady veteran Jeremy Reaves and the athletic Tyler Owens as a developmental player at the position. Butler’s defensive snaps have been greatly reduced this year. That is not surprising considering he was pressed into the starting lineup last season due to injury.

More concerning is that he has been losing defensive snaps in the second half of the season. Butler is now primarily a special teams player. With special teamers like Reaves, Owens, Mykal Walker, and Nick Bellore, that might not be enough for him to hang on next year.

By the way, Forrest is not included here because it has been clear from the beginning of the season that his stock has collapsed.

Benjamin St-Juste - Commanders CB

Benjamin St-Juste’s career in Washington has been like that very slow-moving cruise ship in Speed 2, heading toward disaster for what seems like an eternity.

St-Juste is a talented player as evidenced by his impressive pass-defended stats over the years. But he can also be counted on to make at least one major mistake per game.

Usually, it is a penalty of some kind. He often commits more than one at key moments.

The former third-round pick has never been able to balance the bad plays with enough good ones. St-Juste has just one career interception through 50 games despite being targeted often. That's not good enough.

He has still been on the field quite a bit this season. But in recent weeks, St-Juste began to cede snaps to backup Michael Davis. Once newly acquired Marshon Lattimore can play, the Minnesota product could find himself pushed further down the depth chart.

Sadly, until this season. he has been subjected to very poor position coaches. St-Juste may have developed too many bad habits for the current regime to tolerate.