A Look at the Packers’ Active Ironmen
GREEN BAY, Wis. – Only five defensive players in the NFL have an active streak of playing in 100 consecutive games. One of those players is Green Bay Packers outside linebacker Preston Smith, who hasn’t missed a game in his 102-game career.
“Zero, to be exact,” fellow outside linebacker Rashan Gary said on Friday when asked if he knew how many games Smith has missed.
That streak is in jeopardy with a strained oblique. With the short turnaround to Thursday night’s showdown at the undefeated Arizona Cardinals, the Packers will need to weigh his importance in Sunday’s game against the Washington Football Team vs. the risk of aggravating the injury and impacting his availability for upcoming games against Arizona, Kansas City and beyond.
Among edge defenders, Smith’s streak is second only to New Orleans’ Cam Jordan, whose 165-game streak is No. 1 among all players (not including specialists) by a wide margin.
Smith isn’t the only Packers player with an impressive ironman streak.
- Aaron Rodgers is fourth among quarterbacks with 54 consecutive games. Really, he’s third; Saints backup Taysom Hill owns the No. 3 spot with 58 consecutive games.
- Among off-the-ball linebackers, De’Vondre Campbell’s 71-game streak is second only to the Saints’ Demario Davis, whose 149-game streak trails only Jordan among defenders.
- Among cornerbacks, there’s an unexpected leader: Isaac Yiadom, who leads the way with a meager streak of 40 games. Dallas’ C.J. Goodwin is next with 39 consecutive games, followed by Green Bay’s Chandon Sullivan with 38.
- At safety, Atlanta’s Duron Harmon (132) and New Orleans’ Malcolm Jenkins (124) lead the way but Adrian Amos is fifth with 56 consecutive games.
NFL Consecutive Starts
- At safety, Amos has started 56 in a row – behind only Jenkins (124) and Tennessee’s Kevin Byard (77).
- Rodgers’ 54-start streak trails only Tampa Bay’s Tom Brady (82) and Las Vegas’ Derek Carr (65) among quarterbacks.
- The oldest tight end in the NFL, Marcedes Lewis, has started 18 consecutive games. That’s third behind Detroit’s T.J. Hockenson (22) and Dallas’ Dalton Schultz (20).
- At running back, Aaron Jones has started 15 consecutive games. That trails only Tennessee’s Derrick Henry (23).
Mason Crosby Has Longest Streak
Among all players, Packers kicker Mason Crosby has the longest streak with 230 games and counting. Including playoffs, he’s played in 252 consecutive games. Crosby’s regular-season streak is more than double every other kicker besides Baltimore’s Justin Tucker, who has kicked in 150 in a row.
“There’s always tweaks,” Crosby said during training camp. “You wake up some days and it’s like, all right, I’ve got to really overcome tightness, soreness, whatever. I think it’s just a mentality of getting up every day, doing those little things, having a process. If I need to roll out, I’ll roll out for an hour. You do what you need to do to be prepared and be available, so that’s always been my mantra is being available. I’m going to show up every day, be the same guy every day and go out there and perform at a high level.”
