Rob Ninkovich

At 40 years old, Rob Ninkovich has this physical status:

College career

Ninkovich spent two years at Joliet Junior College in Joliet, Illinois, following high school. As his team won the NJCAA national championship as a rookie, he had 36 tackles and seven sacks.

Ninkovich worked with his father, an ironworker, in hanging beams on a Chicago construction site 19 stories high during his sophomore year. According to Rob's parent, the intention was to encourage him to complete his college education.

Ninkovich earned third-team NJCAA All-America honors as a sophomore at Joliet in 2003 after making 95 tackles (68 solo), five forced fumbles, four fumbles recovered, and a school-record 16 sacks.

Ninkovich moved to Purdue in 2004 and appeared in all 12 games that season. Despite being a reserve, Ninkovich was tied for the team lead and ranked second in the Big Ten with eight sacks. Ninkovich had two sacks on defense and also a touchdown pass from Kyle Orton in an October 2 match against Notre Dame. With four sacks against Indiana on November 20, he tied for the highest school record with four sacks.

Ninkovich, a senior in 2005, received second-team All-Big Ten honors after racking 48 tackles, eight interceptions, two forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery. For the second straight season, he saw four sacks against Indiana, giving him two of the three most individual four-sack performances in school history. He had a one-yard touchdown pass from Curtis Painter, a 37–3 win over Illinois. He had been invited to play in the East Shrine Game following the season.

Professional career

In the fifth round (135th overall) of the 2006 NFL Draft, the New Orleans Saints selected Ninkovich.

The New Orleans Saints signed Ninkovich to a three-year, $1.22 million contract on July 18, 2006.

Ninkovich was battling Charles Grant, Willie Whitehead, and Eric Moore for the job as the starting defensive end during training camp.

In their second preseason game, the New Orleans Saints defeated the Dallas Cowboys 30-7. Ninkovich had two sacks and two forced fumbles during the game, but the Cowboys had a flagged for an unnecessary roughness penalty that resulted in a Cowboys' touchdown. With three sacks, he finished the preseason. To start the regular season, head coach Sean Payton named Ninkovich as the back-up defensive end to Will Smith and Charles Grant.

During the 19–14 victory, he made his professional regular-season debut during the Cleveland Browns' season-opener and had three combined tackles. Ninkovich suffered a torn MC ligament ligament in his knee while on special teams during the Saints' 23–3 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Monday Night Football. After recovering the torn ligament after surgery, the Saints released Ninkovich on season-ending injured reserve on September 29, 2006. Ninkovich's rookie season saw him post four combined tackles (two solo) and a pass deflection in three games.

During preparation camp, Ninkovich played with Josh Cooper, Anton Palepoi, Jonathan Hamm, and Willie Evans.

Ninkovich was carted off the field after a knee injury during a afternoon session on July 30, 2007. He was released by the New Orleans Saints as a result of their final roster cuts on September 6, 2007.

The Miami Dolphins released Ninkovich off waivers on September 7, 2007. Cam Cameron, the head coach, named him the back-up defensive end to Jason Taylor and Matt Roth.

During the Dallas Cowboys' 37–20 loss on September 16, 2007, Ninkovich made his Miami Dolphins debut on September 16, 2007. He was inactive for four games (Weeks 4–7) and will continue to play sparingly throughout the season. In 2007, he was inactive for seven more games (Weeks 10–13 and Weeks 14–17). He had two combined tackles in four games during the 2007 season.

Cam Cameron, the head coach, was fired after a 1–15 season in 2007. Tony Sparano, the Miami Dolphins' new head coach and defensive coordinator, has been promoted from a 4-3 defense to a 3-4 defense. Due to the change, Ninkovich was pushed out of the linebacker position. He competed against Charlie Anderson, Kelly Poppinga, Quentin Moses, Titus Brown, and Keith Saunders for the position of backup outside linebacker throughout training camp.

During the 2008 preseason, he ties Dolphins defensive end Randy Starks for the team's highest two sacks. Ninkovich was born in August 31, 2008. After clearing waivers, he was called to the Dolphins' practice squad on September 3, 2008.

Ninkovich was promoted to the active roster on November 15, 2008. On November 16, he was active against the Oakland Raiders in a reserve role, but he did not record any tackles.

He was released on November 20, 2008 to make room for linebacker Erik Walden. The following day, Ninkovich was called back to the practice squad. He had no tackles and played in just one game during the 2008 season.

Ninkovich was signed by the New Orleans Saints off the Dolphins' practice squad on December 3, 2008. He was released on July 30, 2009 after the Saints signed long snapper Jason Kyle. In the offseason, Ninkovich had been considered a long-sleeping option for the Saints.

Ninkovich was signed by the New England Patriots to a one-year, $535,000 deal on August 2, 2009.

In Week 5 against the Denver Broncos, he made the Patriots' 53-man roster and scored his first NFL dismissal. On November 6, 2009, he received a contract extension through the 2011 season. He appeared in 15 games for the Patriots in 2009, ending with 23 tackles and one sack.

Ninkovich began the 2010 season as a starter at outside linebacker. Ninkovich made his first interception appearance in the team's Week 4 game against the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football, while another interception and a dismissal followed the game. In 16 games played (10 starts), he finished the season with a career-best 62 tackles, four sacks, and two interceptions.

Ninkovich intercepted a pass from New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez intercepted it 12 yards for the touchdown during the 2011 NFL season. He made another intercept pass earlier this season when he was tipped by Jerod Mayo for a pass. Ninkovich had his best statistical season of his career, with 74 tackles, 6.5 sacks, 2 interceptions (1 returned for a touchdown), 1 intercepted kick, 1 forced fumble, and 3 recovered fumbles despite playing all 16 regular-season games. During the Divisional Playoff game between the Patriots and the Broncos, Ninkovich had 5 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 1 tackle for a loss, and 2 quarterback hits against the Broncos. During the second round of the Conference Championship Game, Ninkovich also made seven tackles against the Ravens. Ninkovich played in Super Bowl XLVI against the New York Giants at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana, but the Patriots lost the Super Bowl 21-17. Ninkovich had 4 tackles (3 solo), 0.5 sacks, and 2 quarterback hits in the game.

Ninkovich was fired from defensive action during the 2012 offseason; his replacement at outside linebacker was Patriots rookie Dont'a Hightower. Ninkovich, who appeared opposite rookie Chandler Jones, led the team with 8 sacks and netted 58 tackles. In addition, he made 5 fumbles, two in a game against the Denver Broncos and two in a game against the Jets, and the team lost a game-ending overtime stripe against the Jets. He started every game and had 8 sacks, 1 pass defense, 5 forcible fumbles, and 4 fumble recoveries on 58 tackles in 2012.

Ninkovich signed a three-year contract extension, extending to 2016, which included $8.5 million in bonuses and pledged funds, but totaled $15 million over its course. He started every game, with 8 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries out of 91 total tackles.

In the Patriots Week 6 game against the Buffalo Bills, Ninkovich set a single-game record of three sacks. Ninkovich recovered a Jay Cutler fumble for his second straight touchdown in Week 8. Ninkovich was the Patriots' third year in a row with eight sacks. Russell Wilson was fired once and recorded six tackles in the Patriots' 28–24 victory over the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX.

Ninkovich appeared in all 16 games for the Patriots in 2015, totaling 52 tackles and 6.5 sacks.

Ninkovich tore his triceps in the preparation camp and was supposed to miss a few weeks. After testing positive for a banned drug on September 2, 2016, Ninkovich was suspended for four games.

Ninkovich was signed to a one-year deal extension by the Patriots on September 5, 2016.

Ninkovich played for the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LI on February 5, 2017. As the Patriots defeated the Atlanta Falcons by a score of 34-28 in overtime, he had two assisted tackles in the game. In a postgame interview with WBZ Sports, Ninkovich said the Patriots "broke down" in the locker room at halftime, before deciding to play "one hell of a 30-minute half." In the third quarter, the Patriots trailed 28–3 but the Atlanta Falcons won the game 34-28. The game was the first to reach overtime, and the Patriots made the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history.

Ninkovich announced his retirement from football after eleven seasons, including eight with the Patriots, on July 30, 2017.

Ninkovich will join the network in July 2019 as an NFL analyst.

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