Patriots' Rob Ninkovich steers clear of consecutive game talk: ‘What is that?'

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FOXBORO – If you’re going to play in 116 consecutive NFL games, you need a little more than a great work ethic and high pain threshold. You need a little bit of luck.

At least Rob Ninkovich seems to think so. The Patriots ironman defensive end, who hasn’t missed a game since November of 2009, treated talk of his streak the way a pitcher would talk about a no-hitter in progress. He didn’t.

 “What is that?” said Ninkovich when asked about his streak during Patriots media access on Thursday. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
 
It’s ironic that this player, who couldn’t get on the field for the first three years of his career, is impossible to get off of it. Ninkovich was waived four times after coming into the NFL as a fifth-round pick in 2006.
 
“I knew I was pretty good,” said Ninkovich, now 32. “I just needed the opportunity and again, I’m thankful that I was given the opportunity and from that point on it’s up to you to make the best of it. From the first time I got here until whenever it ends I’m just going to continue to work hard and enjoy the moment because I know I can’t do it forever. I enjoy it, I really do. I enjoy the game”
 
Having broached “the end,” Ninkovich was asked when that’s coming.
 
“Right now I’m not thinking about the end,” he replied. “I’m just continuing to try and help the team win and contribute any way I can. I’m not thinking about the finish line right now, so I’m just trying to work on myself and show these young guys that an old guy can still run and do all the things that you need to do, right?”
 
Ninkovich’s place is very secure heading into this season. The team was able to shave his snaps a bit in 2015, but the trade of Chandler Jones means Ninkovich, Jabaal Sheard and newly acquired Chris Long will be the presumptive players at the top of the depth chart. Trey Flowers and Geneo Grissom are right behind.
 
“We have a bunch of really talented guys,” said Ninkovich. “I love Trey [Flowers], Geneo [Grissom]. I think those guys have a bright future. Again, I think that we’re all working and we’re going to get better. It’s a really athletic, bright – the future for those guys is bright. So, again the sky is the limit. We just have to continue to work hard and learn and get ready here for training camp.”

 

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