It is difficult for any professional athlete to play a sport for a long time, but it is particularly difficult for an NFL player to do it. The average career of a player spans about 3.3 years, and those that play into their 30s are considered major success stories.
Still, there are always a handful of outliers who are able to play deep into their 30s. Some even stick around until they reach age 40.
Those athletes are becoming rarer by the year, but there are still a handful of NFL players reaching that milestone.
The NFL is likely to see at least three players aged 40 or older log action in 2022. A fourth could join the group as well once his 40th birthday rolls around in early December.
Who are the oldest NFL players in 2022? Here is a breakdown of the grizzled veterans that are continuing to hang around the league.
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Oldest active NFL players 2022
Below is a list of the 10 oldest players currently on NFL rosters and practice squads. This list will be updated throughout the 2022 NFL season.
1. Tom Brady, Buccaneers
- Position: Quarterback
- Birthdate: August 3, 1977
- Age: 45
Brady was set to cede the oldest player in the NFL title after his brief retirement in February, but he returned and will hold onto the milestone for another year. The three-time All-Pro and seven-time Super Bowl champion turned 45 before the season began and is the lone active NFL player remaining who was born in the 1970s.
2. Jason Peters, Cowboys
- Position: Offensive tackle
- Birthdate: January 22, 1982
- Age: 40
Peters can become just the second left tackle to start a game over the age of 40. Andrew Whitworth became the first to do it last season, but he has since retired. Peters isn't currently on a 53-man roster, but he is on Dallas' practice squad. The two-time All-Pro who has made 218 career starts should be elevated shortly to add some needed experience to the Cowboys' offensive line.
MORE: How the Cowboys & Dak Prescott are impacted by Tyron Smith's injury
3. Andy Lee, Cardinals
- Position: Punter
- Birthdate: August 11, 1982
- Age: 40
After the retirement of Ben Roethlisberger, Lee is the last member of the 2004 NFL Draft class still in the league. He was a sixth-round pick by the 49ers that year and has played 280 games during his career. His first punt of the 2022 NFL season will be the 1,400th of his career. He will be just the fourth player to reach that milestone and his 65,248 punting yards rank as the third-most in NFL history.
4. Robbie Gould, 49ers
- Position: Kicker
- Birthdate: December 6, 1982
- Age: 39
Gould has long been one of the NFL's best kickers. He won the Bears' kicking job in 2005 and held onto it for a decade before Chicago went in another direction in 2016. Gould has continued to kick — and kick well — for the Giants and 49ers. He has made 420 career field goals and needs just 17 in 2022 to climb into the top 10 of all time.
5. Aaron Rodgers, Packers
- Position: Quarterback
- Birthdate: December 2, 1983
- Age: 38
Rodgers was just the 10th-oldest player to participate in an NFL game in 2021. Now, he has climbed into the top five. Rodgers has always been a strong quarterback, be he has gotten better with age, winning back-to-back MVP awards and being named an All-Pro first-teamer in each of those seasons.
Rodgers' 449 touchdown passes are the fifth-most in NFL history and he has an outside shot at making the 500 club this year. More impressively, he has the lowest interception percentage in NFL history at 1.3 percent. That is 0.3 percent better than the second-ranked duo of Patrick Mahomes and Tyrod Taylor.
MORE: Where Aaron Rodgers ranks among NFL's highest-paid players for 2022
6. Marcedes Lewis, Packers
- Position: Tight end
- Birthdate: May 19, 1984
- Age: 38
Lewis was a first-round pick in the 2006 NFL Draft by the Jaguars. He never quite lived up to the hype as a receiver — save for his 700-yard, Pro Bowl year in 2010 — but he has carved out a lengthy career as a solid blocker. Lewis has played in 234 career games with 204 starts and has averaged just 1.8 catches per game. He has quietly hung around the NFL though and has been a key role player for the Packers for the last four seasons.
7. Clark Harris, Bengals
- Position: Long snapper
- Birthdate: July 10, 1984
- Age: 38
Odds are you've never heard of Harris, as he is a long snapper. However, he has been quietly lurking around the NFL since he was a seventh-round pick in the 2007 NFL Draft by the Packers. He spent the 2008 season with the Texans but has been with Cincinnati since 2009 and is their longest-tenured player. Harris has snapped in 205 career games and was a Pro Bowler in 2017.
8. Matt Prater, Cardinals
- Position: Kicker
- Birthdate: August 10, 1984
- Age: 38
Prater isn't the oldest specialist on the Cardinals, but he is still is one of the oldest kickers in the NFL. The two-time Pro Bowler made his debut in 2007, making just 1 of 4 field goals with Atlanta before finding his kicking stroke in Denver. Prater has made 351 career field goals and has made a league-high 66 from 50-plus yards. He has made 83 percent of his field goals overall and 74.2 percent from 50 yards and beyond.
9. Mason Crosby, Packers
- Position: Kicker
- Birthdate: September 3, 1984
- Age: 38
The Packers got a bit younger during the offseason, but they still have a lot of veterans. Case and point, Crosby is the third Green Bay player among the 10 oldest NFL players. Crosby was a sixth-round pick in the 2007 NFL Draft which produced several of the great specialists on this list. He has made 370 career field goals in 241 regular season games with the Packers and won a Super Bowl with them in 2010.
MORE: Why Packers are Sporting News' pick to win Super Bowl 57
10. Nick Folk, Patriots
- Position: Kicker
- Birthdate:
- Age: 37
Folk nearly crashed and burned out of the NFL in 2017 thanks to a disastrous four-game stint with the Buccaneers during which he made just 6 of 11 field goals and 7 of 9 extra points. However, he bounced back nicely with the Patriots in 2019 and has remained a quality option since. He has made 90 percent of his field goals in New England and 321 total field goals during his career.
