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Aaron Schatz, ESPN Writer
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers is trying to do something very difficult this season. He’s trying to win a Super Bowl at the age of 41. It’s not easy to play in the NFL at that age, or anything close to it. Last season, only two players over the age of 35 started at least 10 games: Calais Campbell of the Falcons (37), who is now in Miami, and Jason Kelce of the Eagles (36), who is now retired.
Denver Broncos fans who will see their team face off against Rodgers and the New York Jets on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET at MetLife Stadium, know all about players succeeding at an older age. Peyton Manning was 36 when he played his first season for the Broncos in 2012. The following year, Manning won his fifth MVP award. Two seasons later, at age 39, Manning helped lead the Broncos to a Super Bowl title.
I’ve ranked the top seasons in NFL history by players over the age of 35, and as you might have guessed, both Manning and Rodgers figure prominently on the list. For the sake of this exercise, we wanted to integrate non-QBs and we limited this to one season per player. We judged players by how well they played compared to the average player at their position rather than just their total value. And at the end, I took a look at the only five current over-35 players who’ve started all three games and picked out the one who is most likely to have the best over-35 campaign.
Let’s start the top-10 list with one of the most successful Cowboys.
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Which over-35 players are off to good starts in 2024?
