Tinsley, who turns 26 next month, returns Monday to where he broke into the league as an undrafted free agent out of Penn State in 2023. That was the last year of head coach Ron Rivera’s Washington regime, when he played two games and spent all of his rookie season on the active roster.
Last season in his first year as the head coach of the Commanders, Dan Quinn kept Tinsley on the practice squad for all 17 weeks. But revenge is far from Tinsley’s mind.
In fact, pretty much only football is in his thoughts these days after a rather significant last offseason he spent back home in Kansas City. Tinsley added a heavy reading list of sports psychology to his already self-described “workaholic,” regimen. Among the authors were trainers of Michael Jordan.
“I always knew I could play. What I’m doing here is no surprise to me,” Tinsley says. “It was more mental. Not letting outside factors affect my mindset. How I went about my day. Controlling what I can control and being in the moment. Sometimes you get to the point where it’s ‘I can’t make mistakes.’ Thinking too much.”
So, while he’s pleased to see old teammates such as Commanders Pro Bowl receiver Terry McLaurin, he’s only thinking about the many things McLaurin taught him. Not Monday’s matchup.
“Using the skill that you train for,” Tinsley says. “Trusting your training. When you do that, whether it’s a win or a loss, you can be OK with the result because that’s what you trained for. If anything, if you lost, or lose a rep, it’s an opportunity for growth.”
It turns out “Scary Terry,” isn’t.
“He is to the defense, but he’s a great teammate,” Tinsley says. “If I was a superstar or a No. 1 receiver, that’s how I would be. Ja’Marr and Tee are similar. He’s a great role model on and off the field. Just how he handles himself. Any question I had, he helped me. He’d have the receivers over to his crib for barbecue and stuff like that.”