Which players have had the longest NFL careers? Tom Brady, Andrew Whitworth, Ben Roethlisberger and more

When Andrew Whitworth took the field on Monday Night Football in Week 14, he became the first 40-year-old to start a game at left tackle in NFL history. In a modern game that is obsessed almost exclusively with the marquee positions like quarterback and wide receiver, and with all of that focus pointing laser-like at Tom Brady’s 44 years of age, it would be easy to under estimate the scale of Big Whit’s accomplishment.

Don’t.

Left tackle is the muscle of the offensive line. The bully. Center is a finesse position, guards need to be quick, but your tackles are your big boys, your heavyweight punchers. And with most quarterbacks being right handed, the left tackle is tasked with watching the blindside and shutting it down. No one does it better than Andrew Whitworth.

While Mr Brady may get jostled every couple of plays, he is only hit with determination perhaps once or twice per drive. Legendary 49ers wide receiver Jerry Rice, who also had an impressive run in the NFL playing until he was 42 years old, may have taken big shots across the middle of the field, but he only took those shots when he was thrown to. More frequently than a quarterback will take them to be sure, but still nothing like an offensive lineman, who is in a bar-room brawl every single play.

Let’s give that idea a little substance to hold onto. Of the 52 people listed by the Pro Football Hall of Fame as having played over the age of 40, the overwhelming majority of them are in low-physical-impact positions like kicker or quarterback. When you discount the pre-merger players, many of whom played in the old multiple-position days, you are left with just five offensive linemen who have made it past that milestone in the modern era.

Across the league this season, there are several players who are approaching the cutoff mark of 40 years old, including another offensive lineman in the Chicago Bears’ Jason Peters at 39. Most of Peters’ career however, was spent on special teams and as a tight end, only moving to the tackle role relatively late in his career. A small difference, you may say, and you could be right. But those early years of slugging away in the trenches can make or break you. And with the exceptions of Peters and Big Whit, the nine current players who are north of 39 are all either kickers or quarterbacks.

Ten oldest active NFL players

Tom Brady tops the table at 44 years old, and much ink has been devoted to his advancing years. Hardly hoary with age, speculation is already rife as to whether he can play past 50, a suggestion that Brady himself seems to embrace.

I certainly wouldn’t put it past him to make it there. His work ethic and physical conditioning routine is second to none and coupled with the way that modern NFL rules protect the quarterback like never before in history, there is every chance that he could be still around in six years time. The thing about that is this, though. Injury comes upon you in an instant. Especially the catastrophic type.

At the start of the 2020 season, Drew Brees signed a two year contract extension with the Saints. He spoke of going on for another four or five seasons. Then, ten weeks later, broken ribs against the 49ers changed his mind for him and retirement started looking very tasty indeed. Joe Theismann was still a dominant force with every sign of playing for years to come when Lawrence Taylor’s infamous leg-breaking tackle ended his career in a play. God forbid anything like that would happen to anyone, and I certainly don't want to put any gris-gris on Tom Brady, but when you are talking about six years in the NFL, you are talking about a lifetime. And as the saying goes, there is many a slip betwixt a cup and the lip.

Big Ben Roethlisberger is five years behind Tom Brady at only 39, but it seems that the wear and tear have taken their toll on him much more emphatically than his Tampa Bay counterpart. Perhaps this is to be expected when you look at the type of smash-mouth football that Pittsburgh is known and loved for. The quarterback there is expected to hold his own and not shy away from his share of the grunt work.

Historically, the pattern holds true for the oldest players. Vinny Testaverde played until he was 44, being the highest ranked quarterback to not be in the hall of fame. Warren Moon, who also played to 44, is in the Hall of Fame, as well as the Canadian Football Hall of Fame where he enjoyed a stellar career north of the border.

Gary Anderson and Ben Agajanian were placekickers who made it to 45 years old, and three other legendary placekickers in John Carney (46), the Great Dane Morten Andersen (47), and Adam Vinatieri (47) had long and illustrious careers. The top of the heap, though is George Blanda who played both quarterback and placekicker for 26 seasons, retiring at the age of 48. Catching that may take some doing.