Rasul Douglas signing makes all the sense in the world for the Commanders, but also raises a legit question about a recent draft pick
The Commanders absolutely needed to add someone like Rasul Douglas to the roster, but it does raise a legitimate question about Trey Amos’ health, as well as his overall development.
Rasul Douglas is a much-needed addition for the Washington Commanders’ cornerback room. His wealth of experience, playmaking ability, and overall versatility were sorely needed and will provide a nice boon for the group moving forward.
At the same time, however, it does raise a serious question around second-year cornerback Trey Amos’ health and overall development.
Let’s start with the initial health concerns: Amos has yet to participate in practice since he fractured his fibula in Week 10 of last year. The recovery has been going well, albeit slow.
When considering that, along with his relative inexperience, it’s easy to see why the Commanders brought in Douglas as not just a safety blanket, but someone who can start opposite Mike Sainristil on the outside. The soon-to-be 10th-year veteran had a great 2025 campaign with 62 total tackles, two interceptions, 13 pass break-ups, 1.0 sack, two tackles for a loss, and one forced fumble, proving he still has plenty of gas in the tank.
Amos, on the other hand, was very up-and-down before his injury. He finished with a team-best 18% forced incompletion rate, per PFF, but still gave up the second-most receiving yards despite missing seven games. He was also one of the secondary’s worst tacklers, finishing just a few decimals behind Antonio Hamilton Sr. for the highest missed tackle rate associated with pass plays.
Trey Amos’ 2025 stats
There’s still a lot to like about Amos’ game, especially when considering he’s a former second-round pick. However, he was having a very up-and-down rookie season before fracturing his fibula, as you can see below:
- Reception % allowed: 67.6%
- Receiving yards allowed: 325
- Receiving TDs allowed: 1
- Interceptions: 0
- QB rating allowed when targeted: 108.1
- Forced incompletion rate: 18%
- Missed play pass tackle rate: 17.9%
- Games played: 10
All of the above should’ve created the desire for an established veteran to come in, because frankly, the Commanders have no clue how much Amos will progress in 2026. I mean, they haven’t even been able to see what he looks like post-injury, yet. That rightfully creates a major question mark no one has the answer to until it’s too late. Whether that comes via positive or negative connotation.
Overall, Douglas’ addition should be viewed more as a band-aid for 2026. The hope is he can help ease Amos back into action and the youngster can then start to display the flashes the Commanders have hoped to see since they drafted him. If that happens, Douglas and the Commanders can part ways in 2027 and Amos can ideally take the reins from that point on.
But as with most things in the NFL, only time will tell if this all works out in the Commanders’ favor. At the same time, at least they’ve positioned themselves well enough to where, logically, it should work out pretty well.