Commanders CB Mike Sainristil must recover quickly from Week 1 baptism

It was a baptism of fire for Mike Sainristil.

There was tremendous excitement surrounding the prospects of Mike Sainristil heading into the 2024 season. The rookie cornerback made a seamless transition from college to the pros. He firmly cemented himself as an integral part of the team's defensive strategy through playmaking, hard work, and displaying the leadership qualities this defense sorely lacked last time around.

All signs were pointing up for Sainristil, but there were always going to be some growing pains. First-year cornerbacks tend to go through more complications than most other position groups. The margins are finer and the competition is fiercer versus elite-level wide receivers who are capable of punishing even the slightest mistake. This proved to be the case in Week 1 at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the No. 50 overall selection in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Anyone expecting Sainristil to immediately take his form at Michigan into an NFL regular-season game was out of luck. The cornerback had a few decent moments, but it quickly became a baptism of fire versus a Buccaneers passing attack that smelled weakness and exploited it accordingly en route to a convincing triumph.

Commanderrs should expect a rollercoaster first season from Mike Sainristil

If Sainristil was under any illusions regarding the challenges of covering dynamic wideouts at the next level, he should have crystal clear clarification now. He must take on some harsh lessons and raise performance levels to stand any hope of reaching the lofty expectations of Washington's coaching staff in 2024.

Nobody is - or should be - pressing the panic button with Sainristil. It's a different story where Emmanuel Forbes Jr. is concerned, but he's got far more professional experience and is still suffering the same complications when things matter more.

There will be good times and bad for the first-year pro this season. That's typically how things go unless corners come into the league with generational qualities such as Sauce Gardner. What's important for the Commanders is taking the rough with the smooth and putting Sainristil in better positions in which to thrive.

One could argue the Commanders placed too much on Sainristil's shoulders right out of the gate. However, it's not like they have much choice when looking at how others in the cornerback room are struggling. This was a potential problem group before the campaign. These concerns only grew after Baker Mayfield, Mike Evans, and Chris Godwin carved them open constantly.

Hopefully, this will be Sainristil's welcome to the NFL moment and he can excel from here on. Whether the Commanders put him on first-round wide receiver Malik Nabers against the New York Giants this weekend remains to be seen, but his phenomenal skill set is something that can still be extremely impactful if schemed effectively.

Sainristil is a strong enough character to take this poor performance for what it was. It's all part of the experience of being an inexperienced NFL cornerback. Just take it on the chin and use this adversity to get better moving forward.

The sooner that happens, the better Sainristil's chances of putting together an impressive rookie campaign will be. This was a rude awakening, but no more than that. How the college football national championship winner responds is far more crucial.