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Report: Rob Ninkovich Tears Triceps, Won’t Need Surgery

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And here we thought we were losing Julian Edelman today. Nope, turns out it’s Rob Ninkovich that had the more significant injury, tearing his triceps according to Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston.com.

Ninkovich has been an ironman for the Patriots since signing with the team in mid-August of 2009. Since 2010 he’s played in every game and been a true stalwart in every sense of the word. Losing him for any length of time is a big blow, both off the field and on it. But with no surgery required, Ninkovich could be back as early as October which will give the Pats a chance to develop more depth at a critical position. 

However the Pats are set up far better to deal with this than they would’ve been a couple years ago, when the depth behind Ninkovich and Chandler Jones was non-existent at defensive end. Jabaal Sheard has been unblockable for much of training camp, so he’s now the top option on the edge.

The interesting development is that while Shea McClellin was thought to be headed to linebacker when he signed a free agent deal with the Pats, he’s been working at defensive end and would seem like the immediate favorite to step into Ninkovich’s spot. If that doesn’t work out with McClellin, because let’s face it, he was a far better linebacker than defensive end with the Bears, Chris Long could be another option.

However I tend to think the Pats want to manage him by using him primarily as a designated pass rusher. This would limit his snaps and avoid some of the wear and tear on him after two injury-plagued seasons. He’ll see time at base DE, but I don’t think they’ll want to leave him there for a full game like they could with Ninkovich.

Behind Long and McClellin the Patriots also have Trey Flowers, Geneo Grissom and Rufus Johnson, all of whom flashed at various points in 2015’s preseason. Flowers was pointed out just earlier today by Doug Kyed of NESN, for having a solid day pass rushing. Grissom is a great athlete who also plays special teams, while Johnson has great size and showed up with some pass rush ability last year.

Of those three, Flowers seems like the most well-rounded fit for the kind of role Ninkovich played.

There’s no way to minimize the effect of losing a leader like Ninkovich, but this is the NFL and injuries are the biggest part of the season that everyone prefers to ignore until they happen. The Pats are lucky to have a combination of veterans and youth behind him, and one of those players will have to step up.

If there’s a chance Ninkovich could return later this season it could provide a big boost. But as Reiss points out, you wonder how effective he can be when a huge part of his game is locking tackles out with his arms so he can set the edge.

Nink has long been a blog favorite and I wish him the best as some late-breaking news gives us a small ray of hope.

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