Patriots fan-favorite Rob Ninkovich announced his retirement from the NFL on Sunday at an emotional press conference after a few days of speculation due to his unforeseen absence, which Bill Belichick had described as “personal reasons”. New England loses a versatile, gritty, dependable team leader in the 33-year-old as he chooses to go out on top.
Ninkovich was a fifth-round pick out of Purdue by the Saints in 2006, and he bounced around from New Orleans to Miami before landing with New England as a free agent in 2009. The best thing about this is that the Dolphins claimed they couldn’t find a way to use him, as Ninko promptly went to the Patriots and turned into a do-it-all defender and Patriots legend. That accurately depicts the AFC East for the past sixteen years.
New England knew this was coming, whether Ninkovich directly told the team or not, hence the trade for DE Kony Ealy a few months ago. With Ninkovich’s retirement, the defensive end depth currently stands at: Trey Flowers, Kony Ealy, Geneo Grissom plus rookies Derek Rivers and Deatrich Wise Jr. Ninkovich was expected to be the starter opposite of Trey Flowers coming into this season, so now the team will need to decide who gets the honor of taking over that role alongside the third-year Flowers.
All Ealy, Grissom and the two rookies will get their opportunities to prove that they deserve to start, so it will be interesting to see how Belichick allows them to make their case as we inch closer to the start of the preseason. Maybe Belichick will end up choosing to rotate through those players as the season progresses, or maybe he will make a decision on just one. After all, he knows way more than any of us will ever know.
Another noteworthy factor that comes along with Ninkovich’s retirement is that the fight for defensive edge is essentially over. Before all of this came down, the team had four set edge roster locks in Flowers, Ninko, Ealy and Rivers, while Grissom and Wise Jr. were set to battle for the final spot. Now, New England has room for both Grissom and Wise Jr. to prove themselves in the upcoming season. Grissom has been used primarily on special teams and could make a case for a “promotion”, while Belichick is a big fan of Wise Jr.’s upside.
The Patriots lose an experienced defensive presence both on and off the turf. Ninkovich was the longest tenured defensive Patriot before he hung up the cleats, after all. New England’s defense is, in general, a very young core, and losing leadership and talent like Ninko’s may sting a bit at first. Ealy seemingly already has issues with Belichick and simply isn’t fit to be the leader of the defensive ends, so it looks as if Flowers will get an even bigger stage to perform on this coming season, talent-wise and leadership-wise.
Lastly, Ninkovich’s retirement creates about $685,000 in cap space, bumping the total up to about $14.1 million, according to patscap.com.
The Patriots will undoubtedly miss Ninkovich’s presence in the locker room and on the field, but the best thing about the Patriots is, of course, that they’ll be fine. Ninko was a utility defender, playing the edge and linebacker when and where needed. He did a job for years that would typically require multiple roster spots to fill on any other team. It’s going to be weird no longer seeing that loveable number fifty, especially given the fact that he took over the other number fifty in Mike Vrabel in body and in mind. God damnit, I will miss that beard, too.
Commentaires