Ex-Cal Star Mitchell Schwartz's Streak of Consecutive Starts Ends Sunday
Mitchell Schwartz will not be in the Kansas City Chiefs' starting lineup for Sunday's game against the Broncos.
This is big news.
The former Cal offensive tackle has started every NFL game the Chiefs have played since he was drafted in the second round of the 2012 draft. That's 134 straight regular-season starts, tied with another former Golden Bears player, Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan, for the third-longest active streak of consecutive starts. Only Tampa Bay defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh (137 straight starts) and Colts quarterback Philip Rivers (230) have longer active streaks.
That does not include Schwartz's seven postseason starts, giving him a total of 141 straight starts as an NFL player.
But there's more. Schwartz started all 51 games Cal played in his final four active seasons with the Golden Bears, one shy of the school record of 52 straight starts by Syd'Quan Thompson. Schwartz's streak goes back to 2007, when he sat out the season as a redshirt freshman.
We don't know whether he missed any starts at Palisades Charter High School before he came to Berkeley, but the known count of consecutive starts is now at 192 dating back 13 years.
That streak will end Sunday because Schwartz has been ruled out with a back injury. He was a late-week addition to the injury report a week ago because of the back problem, and though he started last week's game against the Bills, he had to leave the game after eight plays.
Not only has Schwartz not missed any starts in his pro career, he had a long run of not missing any offensive snaps.
He was on the field for 7,894 consecutive offensive snaps to start his pro career before that streak ended last November. He missed three plays in that game and was on the sidelines for three more plays the following week in the Chiefs' regular-season finale.
But he was on the field for all 208 offensive snaps in the Chiefs' postseason run to a Super Bowl victory last season, and Pro Football Focus gave him the highest grade of any player in the postseason (yes, even higher than Patrick Mahomes.)
Schwartz played the first 357 offensive snaps this season before being sidelined last week.
But when the Chiefs run onto the field for their first offensive play against the Broncos, Schwartz, 33, will stay on the sidelines for the first time in 13 years.
Other NFL Injury News Invovling Former Cal Players
---Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson will miss significant time with a high-ankle sprain he suffered Thursday night against the Giants. He probably will be put on injured reserve. He had missed the three previous games with a hamstring injury and has played just four games this season. Last season, Jackson, 31, was limited to three games because of a core injury,
---Washington head coach Ron Rivera, who played linebacker at Cal, will undergo his last day of cancer treatment on Monday Oct. 26. He was diagnosed with a form of skin cancer.
---Atlanta Falcons rookie safety Jaylinn Hawkins, who missed the past two games with a concussion, practiced this week and is expected to play in Sunday's game against the Lions.
---Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen, who missed most of the Chargers' most recent game Oct. 12 against the Saints because of a back injury, was a full participant in practice Friday and is expected to play Sunday against Jacksonville.
Follow Jake Curtis of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jakecurtis53
Find Cal Sports Report on Facebook by searching: @si.calsportsreport
Click the "follow" button in the top right corner to join the conversation on Cal Sports Report on SI. Access and comment on featured stories and start your own conversations and post external links on our community page.
