You can take the coach out of New England, but you can’t always take New England out of the coach.
Ask Josh McDaniels.
Under first-year head coach McDaniels, the Las Vegas Raiders are projected to have the oldest 53-man roster in the NFL this season.
The Raiders’ projected 53-man roster will have an average age of 27 years, 5 months, and 27 days as of September 1.
Bookies.com examined each of the 32 projected NFL 53-man rosters and did the math (with some help) on each of the 1,696 players listed to determine the average age for each team this upcoming season.
The proclivity toward veteran players remains a staple in New England, where McDaniels coached for nearly 20 seasons. The Patriots are projected to have the second oldest roster in the NFL when the season begins. The average age of the Patriots’ projected 53-man roster as of September 1 will be 27 years, 5 months, and 13 days. And that’s even after 45-year-old Tom Brady left the Bay State two years ago for the warmer climes of Florida.
The Arizona Cardinals are third on our list, with an average age just 5 days younger than New England. Even with Brady set to start his 23rd NFL season at Dallas on September 11, the Buccaneers are only 4th overall with an average age of 27 years, 4 months, and 6 days.
The youngest team on our list is the Cleveland Browns. Their projected 53-man roster averages 25 years, 5 months, and 27 days old.
FL Rosters By Average Age: Oldest To Youngest
Here is a list of each NFL team with the average age of its projected 53-man roster as of September 1, listed in years, months, and days. The teams are listed in descending order, with the oldest first.
NFL 53-man rosters must be finalized by 4 p.m. on August 30. The final rosters are certain to feature a few differences from the rosters used here, given the probability of injuries in camp and the usual “surprise” cuts.
We expect some of the rankings here to shift once rosters are finalized, and we will update this page after final cuts are made.
Rams, Chiefs Show Surprising Focus On Youth
Coach Bill Belichick, who turned 70 on April 16, begins his 23rd season as New England head coach on September 11 at Miami. But Belichick’s influence in terms of favoring more experienced players is not limited to Foxboro, Massachusetts. It has spread to Sin City.
McDaniels was an assistant coach and/or coordinator in New England from 2001-08 and again from 2012-21. The two oldest players on the Raiders’ projected 53-man roster (Brandon Bolden and Chandler Jones) are former Patriots. The Raiders’ new GM, Dave Ziegler, was formerly the Director of Player Personnel in New England, too. While the likes of Belichick and McDaniels favor experience, other successful teams are leaning toward youth.
The Super Bowl 56 champion LA Rams, despite multiple trades that have depleted their future draft picks, are the fourth youngest team on our list, averaging just 25 years, 10 months, and 14 days on their projected 53-man roster. The Rams are +450 at BetMGM to win the NFC and +1100 at BetMGM to repeat as Super Bowl champions. They begin the season on Thursday, September 8, with a game at SoFi against the Bills. The Rams have just 15 players age 27 and over. They boast 23 players under the age of 25. Eight will be under 23 on September 1.
The Kansas City Chiefs are the No. 2 pick to win the AFC at +500 at BetMGM and the No. 3 pick to win the Super Bowl at +1000 on the same site. They are all-in on their youth movement and have the second-youngest average roster in our survey at 25 years, 9 months, and 24 days. They traded away Tyreek Hill, age 28, this offseason.
How Old Is The Average NFL Player?
According to our data, the mean (or average) age of an NFL player projected to be on a roster this year will be 26 years, 6 months, and 25 days on September 1. That translates to a February 7, 1996, birthdate.
There are 21 teams whose players average 26 years old in age and seven whose rosters average 25 years and under. The average age of the projected final 53-man rosters for the Philadelphia Eagles (26 years, 6 months, 16 days) and Tennessee Titans (26 years, 6 months, 15 days) is separated by just one day.
The spread between our top three teams is just 19 days. And the average ages of four teams on our list (Denver, Baltimore, Miami, and Houston) are separated by just 26 days.
Oldest & Youngest Players Have Familiar, Surprise Names
Of the 1,696 players surveyed, Brady is both the oldest and the only one born during the 1970s. Brady is joined in the “Over 40” club by Arizona punter Andy Lee, who reached the milestone on August 11.
The youngest player across all 32 projected 53-man rosters is rookie Nick Cross of the Indianapolis Colts. Cross, taken in the third round of the 2022 draft, was born on September 10, 2001. He turns 21 one day before the Colts’ opener at Houston on September 11.
Here are the 10 oldest players expected to be in the NFL this season with their age in years, months, and days as of September 1.
Here are the 10 youngest players expected to be in the NFL this season with their age in years, months, and days as of September 1. All of the players listed below were born after Brady took his first NFL snap on Thanksgiving Day in 2000.
Featured Image: USA Today
