'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The NFL is a grueling league, and the physical toll it takes on the body can be difficult to understand unless you’ve played the sport. This is what makes those players who continue into their 40's all the more remarkable, not to mention rare.
Tom Brady is currently the oldest active NFL player at 44 years of age. However, there are some contemporaries of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers starter that are also advancing in years. Some players simply want to keep on playing, be that because of their love of the game, fear of the future, or the pursuit of a crowning glory.
Such displays of determination are admirable, they can also be difficult to watch, and there are clear examples of active players who should really be looking to retire with their best days now very much behind them.
Here are five such examples:
#1 – Jason Peters
Having been undrafted in the 2004 NFL Draft, Jason Peters has exceeded expectations. He has been a steady presence on the offensive lines of three NFL teams.
The Buffalo Bills gave Peters his first opportunity to play at the highest level and he repaid them with years of service, albeit on a consistently poor team. He finally had his moment of success in 2018 when the Philadelphia Eagles won the Super Bowl. Peters was a starting tackle, protecting Carson Wentz and Nick Foles.
Peters has had an excellent NFL career, blending consistency with determination to make teams regret not drafting him. However, the 2021 season saw Peters show his age, with his 40th birthday having arrived in January 2022.
The Chicago Bears wanted a veteran presence to secure their offensive line, but Peters simply isn’t the same player anymore. He allowed six sacks from his position, the 14th highest in the NFL in 2021, and couldn’t protect a doomed Bears offense.
Peters is currently a free agent looking for one last year in the NFL, but the reality is he might not be good enough anymore. He doesn’t have anything else to prove and playing a further year in one of the more trying physical positions on the field is simply foolish.
#2 – Jimmy Graham
Jimmy Graham’s career as an elite receiving option ended when the New Orleans Saints traded him to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for Max Unger. It was a deal that benefited absolutely nobody. The Seahawks have struggled to protect Russell Wilson ever since and Graham lost his effectiveness.
In three of his five seasons with the Saints, the 35-year-old scored at least 10 touchdowns. He has only managed the same feat once in the subsequent seven seasons away from Louisiana.
It was a waste of three years of his career, and his spell with the Packers didn’t show any notable improvement. Injuries finally caught up with the physical receiver in 2021, but he is now merely a run-of-the-mill tight end who teams look to on third and short. He isn’t the premier tight end he once was and every year he plays on is making it easy to forget how good he used to be.
#3 – Josh Norman
Josh Norman’s NFL career started late so you’d be forgiven for thinking the cornerback should have more left in the tank. He's 34 years old but had his best days with the Carolina Panthers. He was one of the best corners in the NFL and came close to winning the Defensive Player of the Year award in 2015.
What followed was yet another poor choice to change teams, which is becoming a recurring theme on this list. Norman chased the money and signed a lucrative contract with the Washington Commanders and has never been the same since.
He played for a worse team and thus was under more pressure. All of a sudden, he lost the physical edge that made him so effective with the Panthers. The Commanders cut ties with him after four seasons and he ended up in Buffalo. Here things really went downhill.
By this point, Norman had lost some of his speed and could no longer cover receivers effectively. He was gaining a reputation for on-field fights and was then nearly stiff-armed out of the stadium by Derrick Henry.
The San Francisco 49ers gave him one last shot at NFL success. He was part of their run to the NFC Championship in the 2021 season, but his lack of true speed was an issue.
Opposing teams knew he was a potential weakness and he was regularly caught out by lofted passes over the top. The quickest receivers had a field day against him and his contract wasn’t extended. He is now a free agent but has confirmed he is desperate to stay in the NFL to win a Super Bowl. Sadly, this probably isn’t going to happen.
#4 – Cam Newton
Cam Newton’s fall from grace seemed to happen overnight. A victim of the rapid changing of the guard in Carolina, Newton found himself without real quality surrounding him. The offense became more and more centered around running back Christian McCaffrey.
After reaching the playoffs just once after the Panthers' Super Bowl defeat, Newton found himself in an awkward spot in New England. He couldn’t replace Tom Brady, but who could? His production levels were no better than average and he was released before the 2021 season.
He is still without a team after his brief return to the Panthers came to an end and the NFL door seems to be closed for him. When the previously 'blacklisted' Colin Kaepernick has a more realistic chance of getting an NFL starting job than you do, there might be a problem.
Newton may simply have to leave football behind. He isn’t going to land in a spot that is beneficial and things can only get worse.
#5 – Tom Brady
Tom Brady makes this list almost pre-emptively. Whilst his initial retirement this offseason lasted around 40 days, the self-confessed NFL-addict is back once more. He will spend another year with the Buccaneers but there is already talk of a move to Miami or San Francisco ahead of the 2023 season.
At 44 years of age, this is madness, Brady is playing a game of chicken with time and he can’t keep winning. Nobody thought the great Peyton Manning would lose his arm strength, but he did. His latter days are remembered not just for his Super Bowl win in Denver, but also wobbly passes which threatened the Denver Broncos’ chances.
Manning’s final year in the NFL was difficult to watch at times. A once great champion throwing ducks that even the average armchair fan thought they could intercept. It would be a shame to see the same happen to Brady, but the longer he plays, the more likely it becomes. Not to mention the risk of an injury.
The 2022 NFL season will be challenging in Tampa, with a new coach taking over and a number of players having left. Brady is expected to overcome all this and lead a team beyond expectations. The seven-time Super Bowl champion really has nothing left to prove, so why does he feel the need to? For his sake he maybe should have stayed retired.
