One of my biggest pet peeves while playing hockey growing up was when I’d tell people I was on the team and they’d ask “do you start?”. That would elicit a response that went something along the lines of:
“Well, no I wasn’t on the first line that was on the ice to begin the game, but I played a lot. So I see what you’re asking and while technically no I’m not a starter, I’m still a significant contributor, which is what I think you’re asking, right?”
In hockey and football, “starting” doesn’t really mean much of anything.
Let’s say the Patriots open a game in their 3-4 defense and Brandon Spikes is on the field for the first series but after that the Patriots move to a nickel subpackage for the rest of the game. Does it really mean anything that Spikes was on the field to start the game? Not at all.