With the return of Washington Commanders cornerback Trey Amos, is he responsible for restoring the defensive unit to the expectations set before the season started?

The second-year corner broke a fibula in November during the 2025 season. He rehabbed all offseason, then suffered a setback on his first day of training camp and was sidelined again with a nagging ankle injury. After returning in the Commanders’ most recent game against the 49ers, defensive coordinator Daronte Jones was asked about Amos and whether he might feel he could fix the Commanders’ pass defense on his own.

“Well, we wouldn’t put that responsibility on him,” Jones said. “For Trey, it was very good for him just to be out there. You know, he’s worked through a lot of adversity just to get back out there with his brothers. It’s not going to be a (clicked his fingers) back to rare form as to what he was before he got injured.”

Jones has been around the NFL long enough to know one defensive back, in most cases, won’t change your entire pass defense efficiency. He knows Amos can help, but also that Amos still has much to learn in this new scheme led by first-year defensive coordinator Jones.

“So just working through that, letting him know that his expectations can be tempered that way a little bit. But I think just him being out there was huge for us. Him moving around was huge for his confidence and showing that he is kinda getting back to his old groove. So, the more reps he gets, the more time on task he has out there, he can get back to his old way.”

Returning to action for the 49ers game, Amos actually got the start at corner. He played in 58% of the defensive snaps, all 36 at corner. He was, no doubt, on a pitch count, understandably so. Look for his snap count to increase this week, as the Commanders hope he can play more snaps against the Eagles Sunday night.

Current general manager Adam Peters drafted Amos in the second round (61 overall) in the 2025 NFL Draft, Peters second draft with Washington. In 2025, Amos played in 10 games, starting 8. He defended six passes and recorded 32 combined tackles (19 solo, 13 assisted).