Outside of New England, very few people have any idea who Rob Ninkovich is.
For the Patriots, they know just how valuable he is, having been one of their most consistent players on the defensive side of the football over the last six seasons. He’s missed just one game over that span, and you have to go all the way back to Week 11 of his first season in 2009 as the last time he wasn’t out there after sitting out the team’s 31-14 home win over the Jets.
Since then he hasn’t missed a game and currently holds one of the longest active streaks, leading all NFL defensive ends in consecutive games played with 86.