J.J. Jansen has played in every Carolina Panthers game since the team traded for him in April 2009. He is a long snapper, the player who sends the ball back to the punter or the holder on every punt, field goal and extra point, and he has done it for 280 straight games. Three more, and he passes Jim Marshall for the third-longest streak of consecutive games played in NFL history.
Only two players have gone longer. Jeff Feagles, a punter, played 352 straight games from 1988 to 2009. Brett Favre, a quarterback, played 299 from 1992 to 2010. Marshall, a defensive end for Cleveland and then Minnesota, played 282 from 1960 to 1979.
All 280 of Jansen's have come with one team. Of the five longest streaks in league history, his is the only one played entirely for a single club, according to the Panthers' weekly game release. The fifth belongs to Jon Weeks.
The Panthers play the Detroit Lions at home Sunday night, then have a week off. Jansen would tie Marshall at Philadelphia on Oct. 18 and pass him a week later, on Oct. 25, at home against Tampa Bay.
He is 40, in his 19th NFL season, and a former Pro Bowler from Notre Dame. He has held the Panthers' record for career games since 2021.
Kickoff against the Lions on Sunday is 8:20 p.m. on NBC.