Highlights Age doesn’t dictate success, with older NFL players like Matt Prater showcasing consistency.
Experience is invaluable — players like Carolina’s JJ Jansen, with long careers, bring wisdom to the field.
Notable veterans like Aaron Rodgers remain valuable assets to teams despite their age.
Father Time is undefeated; that much is known to be true.
Some National Football League players can withstand the test of plenty of seasons; however, they can carve out lengthy careers in a physical league designed to usher out older talent promptly. The players on the following list are a testament to consistency and quality play, so let’s look at the oldest active player for each NFL team.
The rosters considered in this writing are as of Aug. 7, as some players aren’t guaranteed to make their teams’ final cut before the regular season kicks off.
Related Falcons Star WR Taking Opportunity to Learn From Kirk Cousins Atlanta’s WR1 is excited for the opportunity to play with Kirk Cousins, and thinks he could grow a lot by having him on the team.
1 Matt Prater, Arizona Cardinals
Current Age: 39 years
Credit: Justin Edmonds/Getty Images
A two-time Pro Bowl kicker, Prater has been in the NFL since 2007, when he split time with Atlanta and Denver. He’s suited up for Arizona since 2021. Prater turns 40 on Aug. 10 and has been true on 83.4% of his career field goal tries.
2 Kirk Cousins, Atlanta Falcons
Current Age: 35
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Cousins, who turns 36 on Aug. 19, takes the reins of the Falcons’ attack after a half-dozen go-rounds in Minnesota. He paced the NFL in touchdown passes (16) and was second in passing yards (2,057) before a torn Achilles cut his promising season short in October.
3 Josh Johnson, Baltimore Ravens
Current Age: 38 years
Johnson’s picture should be in the dictionary under “journeyman.” The veteran quarterback has spent time with nearly half the franchises in the NFL since being drafted by Tampa Bay in 2008. Johnson also had stints in the United Football League, Alliance of American Football, and XFL.
4 Kareem Jackson, Buffalo Bills
Current Age: 36 years
Houston’s 2010 first-round draft choice, Jackson, joined the Bills on a one-year deal toward the end of July. The 15th-year defensive back brings 193 career starts, 954 total tackles, and 22 career interceptions to Buffalo.
5 JJ Jansen, Carolina Panthers
Current Age: 38 years
Jansen, a long snapper, is Carolina’s all-time leader in career games, with 243 heading into his 16th campaign with the Panthers. That total is good enough for 73rd in league lore, as well.
6 Marcedes Lewis, Chicago Bears
Current Age: 40
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Lewis serves as more of a blocking tight end at this point in his lengthy gridiron odyssey. Rounding into his 19th NFL season, the 2006 first-round draftee sits three games behind Jason Witten for the league record for most regular season games at his position (271).
7 Ted Karras, Cincinnati Bengals
Current Age: 31 years
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Karras, a center, has started all 36 games for Cincy since joining the Bengals two seasons ago. He’s also been a team captain for both years.
8 Charley Hughlett, Cleveland Browns
Current Age: 34 years
Hughlett, a long snapper and career Brown, has played in 147 games for Cleveland since 2015. As a constant on its special teams unit, the team signed him through 2026 in October 2022.
9 Bryan Anger, Dallas Cowboys
Current Age: 35 years
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In his 13th year in the NFL, Anger has been with Dallas since 2021. He’s averaged 46.8 yards per punt for his career and has pinned 68 boots inside the 20 over the past three campaigns.
10 Michael Burton, Denver Broncos
Current Age: 32 years
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Fullbacks are a dying breed in today’s game, but Burton hasn’t been phased out yet. He’s had short-lived stints with Detroit, Chicago, Washington, New Orleans, and Kansas City before he got to Denver last year.
11 Kevin Zeitler, Detroit Lions
Current Age: 34 years
(Photo by G. Fiume/Getty Images)
No offensive lineman has played more snaps than Zeitler (12,263) since he became a pro in 2012. After a Pro Bowl season with Baltimore in 2023, the guard joins his fourth NFL team.
12 Preston Smith, Green Bay Packers
Current Age: 31 years
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Smith, a defensive end, has been in Green Bay since 2019, spending four seasons with Washington before that. He’s tied for the most games played by a defender (146) since he entered the league in 2014.
13 Jon Weeks, Houston Texans
Current Age: 38 years
This season will be Weeks’ 15th with the Texans. The long snapper has appeared in 227 games for Houston since 2010 and signed a one-year, $1.2 million deal to stick around in February.
14 Joe Flacco, Indianapolis Colts
Current Age: 39 years
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Flacco’s career got a jolt with Cleveland last year, reaching the playoffs with the team. The reigning Associated Press Comeback Player of the Year backs up Anthony Richardson, who is over 17 years younger. Quite the age gap, huh?
15 Tyler Shatley, Jacksonville Jaguars
Current Age: 33 years
No current player has been with the Jaguars longer than Shatley, a center who has signed short-term pacts to stay in Jacksonville since arriving as an undrafted free agent in 2014. He’s played in 145 games during a decade with the team.
16 James Winchester, Kansas City Chiefs
Current Age: 35 years
Kansas City hasn’t played a game without Winchester since the start of the 2015 campaign. Is he the one behind Andy Reid’s dynasty’s success?
17 John Jenkins, Las Vegas Raiders
Current Age: 35 years
For the first time in his 11-year odyssey, Jenkins started 17 games last year. The defensive tackle’s 61 combined stops, four tackles for loss, and four passes defended were all career-bests, pushing him forward into this season.
18 Josh Harris, Los Angeles Chargers
Current Age: 35 years
Harris joined the Bolts in 2022 after a decade with Atlanta, where he long-snapped in Super Bowl LI.
19 Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams
Current Age: 36 years
Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Stafford, the first player taken in the 2009 NFL Draft, was the missing piece for the Rams to get their Super Bowl just a few years ago. He reached his second Pro Bowl in 2023 after throwing 24 scores.
20 Calais Campbell, Miami Dolphins
Current Age: 37 years
Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
Campbell will dress for his fifth franchise this season, his 17th as a pro. The 6-foot-8, 282-pound defensive tackle is a six-time Pro Bowler and began his career in 2008 with Arizona.