Quick-hit thoughts around New England Patriots, NFL – ESPN Boston

Must-read every Sunday morning, with interesting tid bits on Revis and Ridley. But the one that continues to stick out to me is Rob Ninkovich once again playing the highest percentage of snaps in the NFL for defensive linemen. This reminds me of what the Pats did to Vince Wilfork in 2011 and 2012 and then Wilfork sustained a torn achilles in 2013. Could that be a “wear and tear” type injury? Seems like it and I worry about Ninkovich suffering the same fate.

I had the same concerns last year with only Chandler Jones and Ninkovich as the trusted defensive ends on the roster, and I thought they’d try to find that third rotational guy last offseason, but they never did. When Jones went down they had to scramble to bring in Akeem Ayers, who was luckily very solid in replacing him.

Whether it’s bringing back Ayers, drafting a rookie defensive end, or both, I think they need to think about easing off on Ninkovich’s snaps a bit more. He’s still a great three-down player, but he’s of no use if he gets injured because he’s been run into the ground.