Average age of all NFL teams, including offense and defense

By Dave Brown | dave@nflen.com

Go here for the latest article on the average age of every team heading into free agency in 2013. This article was done right before the start of the 2012 season.

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(Photo credit: www.davidnicolas.co.uk)

Twice a season, I take a look at each team and see how old their roster is. The last time I looked was heading into free agency. At that time, the Pittsburgh Steelers were the oldest team in the NFL, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were the youngest. The Super Bowl champion New York Giants were the 19th oldest and 14th youngest, however you want to look at that.

As an overview of how I calculate these numbers, I do not exclude special teams players. For this article and going forward, that becomes important, as I also calculate the average ages of every offense and defense in the NFL.

I do not include practice squads or players on injured reserve. Practice squads are composed of younger players, and are probably about the same average age across the board. Including them would just increase the amount of work with no gain in information. The players on injured reserve, with the possible exception of one from each team under the new rules, will not have an impact on the active rosters for the entire season.

Now that we have an idea of what teams were looking back, it's time to look forward into the 2012 season and see where they are now.

Did the Pittsburgh Steelers get younger?
Which team is the youngest in the NFL?

This time, there is much more. Who has the youngest defense in the NFL, and the oldest offense?

Free agency and green grass explained

By Dave Brown

In less than five weeks, training camps will open around the league. Well, that's a ways off yet, and coaches are looking at their 90 man rosters and working towards what they want their final roster to look like.

Teams are going to have more of this or more of that on their rosters right now, it's the nature of the NFL. If you say a team can look at 120 players, you had better bet that in most cases, that team is going to look at 120 different players. Well, 90 players on a roster does seem to be a big enough number for now, and this is that time of year after most of the big name free agents are gone that the fans start to notice the little things, like that receiver the team just picked up, or that defensive end.

Patriots pick up Ballard off waivers

by Ryan Ebert

Just one day after he was released by the Giants TE Jake Ballard was picked up off waivers by the New England Patriots.

The Giants released him because he tore his ACL in the Super Bowl and did not pass his physical.

Patriots will now have three dangerous TEs in Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez, and Jake Ballard.

Ballard had 38 receptions for 604 yards for an 15.9 average and 4 touchdowns in 2011 for the Giants.

Stroud to enter the NFL after missing 2012

by Ryan Ebert

Three-time Pro Bowl DT Marcus Stroud wants to play again after sitting out the entire 2012 season. He has played for the Jaguars and Bills. He took the year off to rehabilitate himself after shoulder surgery. Last year he signed with New England, but wasn't healthy enough. The lockout prevented him from properly rehabbing, and had other problems that included a staph infection.

"I'm feeling healthy and everything, and I want to see if I can give it one more chance," Stroud said. "If I can, I can; if I can't, I'm satisfied, too."

Stroud is now 33 and has accumulated 424 tackles, 29.5 sacks, 8 forced fumbles in 10 seasons. He made the Pro Bowl in 2003, 2004, and 2005. From 2001 to 2007 he played with Jacksonville and 2008 to 2010 he played for Buffalo.

"If somebody's willing to give me a call, I definitely want to get in and show what I can do," he said.

Age of every NFL team heading into free agency

By Dave Brown


Heading into the NFL free agency and draft periods of the off season, which teams are looking to get younger? Well, we know that going into the 2011 season, the Detroit Lions were the oldest team in the NFL, with the oldest offense and 9th oldest defense. The Lions are probably looking to get younger.

Back in August of 2011, ESPN calculated these team ages, not using special teams players. Looking at that list, one can see how the San Francisco 49ers both improved and got younger before the start of last season.