{"id":496,"date":"2016-09-03T07:00:34","date_gmt":"2016-09-03T11:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/?p=496"},"modified":"2021-06-01T19:47:56","modified_gmt":"2021-06-01T23:47:56","slug":"rob-ninkovich-suspension","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2016\/09\/03\/rob-ninkovich-suspension\/","title":{"rendered":"What the Rob Ninkovich Suspension Means for the New England Patriots"},"content":{"rendered":"

In an interview with Mike Reiss<\/a><\/strong>, Patriots defensive end\u00a0Rob Ninkovich<\/a><\/strong> said he was “heartbroken” over being suspended for the use of a banned substance by the NFL. Claiming to be a man of high integrity, Ninkovich claimed ignorance when he said he was “unaware something I bought had a substance in it that would give me a positive test because it wasn’t listed [as an ingredient].” His lack of awareness cost him the first four games of the 2016 season.<\/p>\n

The substance has yet to be named, but Ninkovich is taking full responsibility for his mistake, saying “That is a hard lesson for me to learn at this stage in my career… it’s a mistake I made and it hurts that I won’t be there for my teammates.”\u00a0Expected to miss some games due to a triceps injury<\/a> he suffered earlier in August, it was unclear just how long Ninkovich would be out for.\u00a0After all, he was spotted at a practice just 5 days after tearing his tricep and the timetable for a return dropped from months to just weeks.<\/p>\n

Wonder no more, Patriots fans.\u00a0The rising fan-favorite\u00a0will now be forced to sit out the Patriots’ first four games along with Tom Brady<\/a>. He has had at least 30 tackles and six sacks\u00a0every year<\/a> dating back to 2011. He has also become an important player on special teams. His speedy recovery from injury this pre-season was a welcomed sign that he would return sooner than later. Now it seems as if the recovery and the suspension are somehow related.<\/p>\n

What the Rob Ninkovich Suspension Means for the Patriots<\/strong><\/h3>\n

For starters, expect less impressive numbers from Ninkovich this year. Being limited to 12 games won’t necessarily make him less productive on a\u00a0per-game basis, but having a serious injury could impact his health moving forward and thus decrease his effectiveness in certain situations.<\/p>\n

Chris Long<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0will fill most of the\u00a0void left by Ninkovich, with Trey Flowers and Shea McClellin\u00a0likely seeing limited action as well. Newcomer Barkevious Mingo<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0– depending on how quickly he picks up New England’s defense – could spend a decent amount of time there too.<\/p>\n

With the pre-season officially wrapped up, the Patriots’ focus now shifts to the season opener against the Cardinals on September 11th on NBC’s Sunday Night Football<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n