The Washington Commanders are focusing on cornerback options in free agency after addressing their defensive front seven. The team's cornerback performance has been subpar, highlighting the need for improvements in this area.
Key points
Commanders focused on cornerback options in free agency
Defensive front seven upgraded this offseason
Cornerbacks allowed higher yardage than league average
Mike Sainristil ranked poorly among starting cornerbacks
Washington Commanders
rausl douglas nfl free agency
rausl douglas nfl free agency
The Commanders have made great efforts to upgrade the defensive front seven this offseason in free agency and the draft. Compared to the massive investment directed toward those position groups, relatively little was done to address the roster deficiencies in the secondary, and the cornerback room, in particular.
Prior to free agency, I published an analysis of the 2025 coverage stats which showed that, aside from the now departed Marshon Lattimore and rookie Trey Amos, the rest of the Commandersâ CBs gave up yardage in coverage at much higher rates than league average.
The worst performer of the group was second year CB, Mike Sainristil, who ranked close to the bottom of starting CBs in Rate of Yardage Allowed (Y/Cov Snap), Touchdown Rate, and yardage allowed after the catch (YAC/Rec).
The rest of last yearâs CB lineup were not much better and were released. Antonio Hamilton Sr. was recently re-signed to pad the depth ranks.
Evaluating CB Performance
While his coverage was weak, Sainristil was well above average in pass defense, ranking just outside the top 10% in Interception Rate. Cornerbacks who make a lot of interceptions often get a pass on leaky coverage. In my opinion, that is a mistake.
Interceptions can be game-changing plays. But they are also rare events. The Ramsâ Cobie Durant led NFL CBs with 6 interceptions last season. Those plays accounted for 0.6% of his defensive snaps, and only affected 5 of the 20 games that he played in. Interceptions are important. But, if we rate CBs solely on that basis, then we are judging their performance based on less than 1% of their plays on the field.
Q&A
What cornerbacks are available for the Washington Commanders in free agency?
The article analyzes various cornerback options available for the Commanders in the current free agency period.
How did the Washington Commanders' cornerbacks perform in 2025?
The Commanders' cornerbacks, excluding Marshon Lattimore and Trey Amos, allowed yardage in coverage at significantly higher rates than the league average in 2025.
Who was the worst performing cornerback for the Commanders in 2025?
Mike Sainristil was the worst performer among the Commanders' cornerbacks in 2025, ranking low in several coverage metrics.
What changes have the Commanders made to their defensive lineup this offseason?
The Commanders have focused on upgrading their defensive front seven but have made fewer moves to improve their secondary, particularly the cornerback position.
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What are they doing with the rest of their playing time? They are covering receivers to prevent targets and receptions or playing in run support. To evaluate CB performance based on what they do on a down-to-down basis, throughout an entire season, in this article I have leaned heavily on two metrics:
Rate of Yardage Allowed (Yards/Coverage Snap) provides an indication of a CBâs ability to contain receiving yardage in coverage. The range of values among 103 CBs who played as much or more than Noah Igbinoghene in coverage in 2025 is illustrated in the following table from my previous CBs article. Figures are based on coverage yardage data from Pro Football Focus and Pro Football Reference:
Run Stop Rate is the percentage of plays in run support on which a defender makes a tackle which represents a failure for the offense (stopped short of 45% of yards to gain on first down, 60% on second down, failure to convert on 3rd or 4th down).
2025 Offseason Additions
To shore up the coverage unit, the Commanders signed 31 year old Ahkello Witherspoon, whom the 49ers drafted in Adam Petersâ first season as VP of Player Personnel, and Amik Robertson, who you might have noticed was the worst CB in coverage in 2025 according to PFRâs figures in the table. I must admit to being less than impressed when the Commanders announced they had signed him, shortly after I published those stats.
Witherspoonâs coverage performance peaked between 2019 and 2021. He has made some interceptions, but has allowed higher than average rates of yardage in coverage every season since then. In 2025, he allowed 1.77 Y/Cov Snap in coverage, which was actually worse than Amik. He didnât qualify for the table because he only played 115 coverage snaps.
Amikâs coverage peaked in 2023, at just a little below league average (1.06 Y/Cov Snap). Over the last two seasons he has been in the bottom 25% of CBs, and was one of the worst CBs in coverage last season according to advanced coverage stats from PFF and PFR.
The Commandersâ coaching staff have professed confidence in their guys. But, if they start any of the veterans currently on the roster opposite of Trey Amos this season, there is a good chance that CB will be picked on by opposing QBs for big gains, like Mike Sainristil was in 2026. There is only so much that improved scheming can do to cover up deficient coverage ability.
For this article, I searched the remaining free agents for CBs with significantly better 2025 coverage numbers than the Commandersâ current veteran options at CB2. The follow-up article, coming soon, identifies a few more potential upgrades who have a good chance of becoming available at roster cutdowns.
To reduce complexity, I only used coverage yardage stats from PFF for this article. Despite some player to player variation, their numbers are highly correlated with PFRâs figures, and support similar conclusions about the listed players.
Premium Free Agent Options
âPremiumâ is relative. There are still two free agent CBs available, who would be instant upgrades to the CB2 position. Both are older players, nearing the twilight of their careers, but should have enough gas in the tank to get the Commanders through the season. They werenât premium options at the start of free agency, but they are now.
Rasul was a third round draft pick by the Philadelphia Eagles in 2017.  He was released following the 2019 season and has started for the Panthers, Packers, Bills and Dolphins. He has played predominantly as an outside corner, throughout his career. But he has also been used consistently in small numbers of snaps in the slot, and on the DL.
Rasul is the best of the options still available from my FA CBs roundup published just before free agency. He was also one of the most affordable players I profiled.
At age 30, he was still playing at a high level last season with the Dolphins. His Rate of Yardage allowed in coverage in 2025 placed him around the 75th percentile of starting CBs. It would have tied him with Marshon Lattimore. If the Commanders signed him tomorrow, he would have the best 2025 coverage numbers on the team.
Douglas is also very strong in run support from the CB position; and every team he has played for has used him occasionally as blitzer, often with good results.
Douglas is a very durable player. He has a history of minor injuries, including a toe injury that hampered him late last season. But he has never missed significant time with a major injury.
Douglas would be an immediate upgrade to the Commandersâ CB room on a very affordable one year deal. It has been reported that Douglas has been talking to the Commanders, among other teams:
TreâDavious could be ranked ahead of Douglas based on playing metrics, alone. He has been a premium coverage corner throughout his career, and was still playing at a high level at age 31 last season. Like Douglas, he is primarily an outside corner, but takes occasional snaps in the box and in the slot.
White is a year older, has a significant injury history, including an Achilles tear in 2023 and an ACL in 2021. He is currently healthy, but the history is a concern at his age.
White allowed a career low Rate of Yardage in coverage in 2025, and ranked 2nd best in the NFL. He has been at or below the 2025 median Y/Cov Snap figure (0.98) throughout his entire career.  He is also very good in run support, and tied with Douglas in Run Stop Rate.
He would be another very good one year option at CB, to step in and immediately upgrade the coverage unit without blowing the bank. However, there are no reports that he is talking to the Commanders.
Other Free Agent Options
Three other remaining free agents could potentially provide upgrades over whoever it is the Commanders plan to line up across from Trey Amos. These are the seconds. They have a few more warts than the first two, but might come good in the right hands of the right Defensive Coordinator and provide better options at CB2 than Ahkello Witherspoon or Amik Robertson.
Sneed was a two-time Super Bowl champion with the Kansas City Chiefs, but did not live up to the Titanâs expectations when they traded for him and signed him to a 4 year, $76M contract in 2024. A big part of that was being hampered by a series of quad and knee injuries in both seasons with the team. His 2025 season was cut short by a quad injury suffered in October, which might have been a recurrence of an injury which sidelined him in preseason.
Sneedâs coverage performance in the two seasons prior to 2025 was in the lockdown range (2023: 0.70 Y/Cov Snap; 2024: 0.64 Y/Cov Snap). His coverage number dipped last season to a little below league average.
Sneed is a physically aggressive corner, with the ability to cover big-bodied receivers. He is also among the best CBs in the league in run support. His 3.3% Run Stop Rate in 2025 ranked 9th out of 152 CBs with a minimum of 150 run defense snaps. And he has proven to be an effective blitzer, with 6.5 career sacks and 13 QB hits on his resume.
Sneed was accused of being involved in a shootout in December, 2024. The details of the alleged incident are curious, to say the least, and the charges were eventually dropped. So I am not sure if it even registers. Interested teams will need to do their due diligence.
If he can stay healthy and return to his pre-injury form, Sneed could be an upgrade to the Commandersâ shaky secondary, and an intriguing fit to Daronte Jonesâ aggressive scheme. His former Chiefsâ teammate, Charles Omenihu has been campaigning for a reunion in DC.
Dan Quinn is known for giving players and coaches second chances. Trevon Diggs could be his next reclamation project.
Diggs peaked while playing for Quinn in Dallas in 2021 and 2022, when he was named first-team All-Pro on the back of an 11 interception season and received back-to-back Pro Bowl nominations. His ball production has declined precipitously, since that peak. But his containment in coverage actually improved.
Diggs was let go by the Cowboys in 2025, following rising tensions stemming from failure to adhere to team protocols during his rehab from an ACL tear in 2023 and claims that he did not buy into the team culture. The Packers claimed him off waivers and played him in the season finale and Wild Card playoff game, then released him after the season.
Contrary to the frequent claim that Diggs was released for giving up too many big plays, his Rate of Yardage Allowed in coverage in 2025 and 2024 was at or below league average. During his Pro Bowl run from 2021 to 2022, he allowed more than 1.5 Y/Cov Snap, placing him in the bottom quartile of staring CBs in coverage containment.
Iâm not sure if the alleged failure to buy into the Cowboysâ team culture is a negative or a positive from the Commandersâ perspective. If Dan Quinn can motivate Diggs to walk like a Commander, and Daronte Jones can coax some of his pre-2023 ball production out of him, he could turn out to be a steal. At the very least, he would provide much needed veteran depth in the secondary.
Griffin is another member of the 2017 draft class (along with Rasul Douglas, TreâDavious White, and LâJarius Sneed), who reached his peak as a Pro-Bowler with the Seahawks in 2019. He lost his starting job with the Jaguars after a back injury in 2022. Since that time, he has spent time in reserve roles with the Texans, Panthers, and Vikings. He was reunited with the Seahawks for one season in 2025, but barely saw the field (75 snaps in 2 games).
Griffin is in the twilight of his career. The stats provided above are from his last full season of play in 2024 with the Vikings, under Passing Game Coordinator Daronte Jones. That season, he had good ball production and was better than league average in coverage containment.
After a year of rest on the Seahawksâ bench, he might have another season of quality production left in him, in a reunion with his former coach from Minnesota.
