Patriots’ Rob Ninkovich Practicing At Middle Linebacker

According to those that have been at Patriots practice this week, it appears Rob Ninkovich has been practicing solely at middle linebacker.

From Andy Hart of Patriots.com:

"Of the players on the field this June for mini-camp, Rob Ninkovich might be the most interesting story out of Foxborough. New England’s starting defensive end for every game over each of the last five seasons has been taking almost all his practice reps as an off-the-line linebacker. Most of that work has seen him lined up on the inside next to Jamie Collins. With Ninkovich at linebacker, Chris Long has taken the bulk of the reps opposite Jabaal Sheard at the veteran’s customary left defensive end spot. The different role has had Ninkovich doing a lot of dropping into coverage in 7-on-7 and team drills, displaying his unique athleticism and versatility. While Ninkovich was seen as the constant and known entity at defensive end following the trade of Pro Bowler Chandler Jones this offseason, at least early on Belichick working some wrinkles in with his playmaking veteran."

Yes, it is just June, so we shouldn’t jump to any crazy conclusions, but I do find it interesting that Bill Belichick is using Ninkovich as an off-the-line ‘backer. Ninkovich has been a steadfast starter on the edge for the Patriots over the last couple of seasons, as he is a crafty veteran when it comes to rushing the quarterback, but more importantly, his run defense is absolutely superb.

After Jamie Collins and Dont’a Hightower, the Pats don’t have a ton of great depth on the inside, and with a plethora of talent on the edge, it does make sense to give Ninkovich some reps on the interior.

God forbid, if Collins or Hightower gets injured again, they can move Nink to the inside, and still have Chris Long or possibly Shea McClellin to work the edge. If you want to get your best possible players on the field, moving Ninkovich to linebacker instead of Jonathan Freeny would certainly work.

Now, with that said, I don’t expect Ninkovich to be used as a full-time inside linebacker anytime soon. He is terrific on the edge, and while I do think New England will use him in a rotation to get Long and Sheard snaps, he is too valuable on the edge to move off the line as long as Hightower and Collins are healthy.