Malcolm Jenkins paused for a moment and you could almost see him mentally punching the buttons of the calculator in his head.
Finally, he was ready to venture a guess.
“Fifty-five hundred,” he said confidently.
Not bad, but not exactly close either. The question was about how many snaps — meaningful snaps on defense and special teams in the regular season and playoffs — Jenkins has played since joining the Eagles back in 2014.
The actual answer is astounding: 6,376 total snaps.
“Six thousand!? I’m way off,” said cornerback Cre’Von LeBlanc, who also ventured a guess. “That’s a lot of snaps. That’s crazy.”
Yeah, it is.
NFL
Jenkins is truly the Eagles’ Iron Man. All this came up this week because, despite a since-corrected error from the NFL earlier in the season, Jenkins played every single defensive snap for the Eagles this season; all 1,039 of them. And he also chipped in with 137 special teams snaps.
This is nothing new for Jenkins either. Since coming to Philadelphia, he has turned into one of the best, most durable and most versatile athletes in Eagles history. He is most certainly one of the best free-agent signings in franchise history too.
Take a look at Jenkins’ playing time history in Philadelphia:
2014: 1,153 of 1,158 defensive snaps; 197 ST snaps (38 percent)
2015: 1,214 of 1,216 defensive snaps (missed two in opener); 148 ST snaps (29.6 percent)
2016: 1,019 of 1,020 defensive snaps (missed one in opener); 145 ST snaps (33 percent)
2017: 948 of 1,031 defensive snaps (missed 62 in meaningless Week 17); 145 ST snaps (32 percent)
2017 playoffs: 206 of 206 defensive snaps (100 percent); 25 ST snaps (34 percent)
2018: 1,039 of 1,039 defensive snaps (100 percent); 137 ST snaps (32 percent)
2018 playoffs: ?
All of this breaks down to him playing an incredible 5,579 of 5,670 defensive snaps (98.4 percent) in an Eagles uniform and also chipping in 797 special teams snaps, a high number for such a significant starting player.
So what’s his secret?
“I’m blessed, to be honest,” Jenkins said. “There’s not really much I can take credit for. This game has a 100 percent injury rate. Everyone that plays this game will be hurt at some point in time. And so for me to be as available as I’ve been since putting on this Eagle uniform, it’s one of those things, I’ve been blessed to have that. Obviously, I take care of my body to make sure I’m available, but there’s some things that are unavoidable. I consider myself to be blessed.”
Part of that is true, of course. Jenkins hasn’t been hit by any severe injuries, but he deserves some credit for taking care of his body as well as he has.
Cornerback Rasul Douglas says Jenkins is always in the cold tub. On many mornings when Douglas, who is eight years his junior, shows up at the NovaCare Complex, Jenkins is already there sitting in the cold tub, reading a book.
“Longevity is a serious thing in this game,” Jenkins said. “We play a violent sport that puts a lot of wear and tear on your body. To be able to play for as long as I have now, and to perform at a high level, you gotta make sure that your body is recovered, that it’s prepared to last the whole season.”
For a secondary that is down to one original starter, it’s hard to overestimate just how valuable Jenkins has been this year. He’s been the veteran leader on the back end and one of the most important pieces on the entire team.
And it all starts because he doesn’t leave the field. Not even for a snap.
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