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Where does Tom Brady rank among the 5 oldest players to start a Week 1 NFL game?

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady

To last the test of time in the NFL, it helps to do one of two things: forge a career as an elite placekicker – or be Tom Brady.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' seven-time Super Bowl winner will take the field against the Dallas Cowboys at Raymond James Stadium on Thursday and become one of the oldest players to run out in Week 1 since records began back in 1932.

But where does 44-year-old quarterback Tom Brady rank among the most senior veterans to line up at the start of an NFL season over the past 89 years?

The 5 oldest players to start in a Week 1 NFL game after Tom Brady plays on Thursday

#1 - George Blanda, kicker, Oakland Raiders – 48 years, 5 days old

Tom Brady needs to play for four more seasons to reach the number one spot on this list. Pro Football Hall of Famer George Blanda not only suited up as the Oakland Raiders' kicker for the last season opener of his career in 1975, but he also served as the back-up quarterback.

A three-time AFL champion and the 1961 MVP for his dual quarterback and kicking performances, Blanda still holds the joint record for the most touchdown passes in a single NFL game (seven). During the twilight of his career, his kicking duties were his primary focus, playing his last major role as a quarterback aged 43. He retired in 1976 as the oldest player to ever play in the NFL, aged 48.

#2 - Adam Vinatieri, kicker, Indianpolis Colts – 46 years, 254 days old

Former Patriots kicker Adam Vinatieri
Former Patriots kicker Adam Vinatieri

"The Iceman" Adam Vinatieri is the NFL's all-time leading points scorer with 2,673 points, and was Tom Brady's teammate for the first five years of the quarterback's career, twice kicking game-winning field goals to clinch Super Bowl wins.

After leaving Tom Brady's Patriots, the three-time Pro Bowler served as the Indianapolis Colts' kicker for 14 seasons before hanging up his boots in May 2021. Vinatieri played his final season opener in 2019. He won four Super Bowls – the most of all kickers – and broke records for most field goals made, most postseason points and most overtime field goals made.

#3 - John Carney, kicker, New Orleans Saints – 45 years, 146 days old

John Carney was on his third stint with the New Orleans Saints when he kicked off the last Week 1 match of his career in 2009. After going undrafted in 1989, Carney was the last active player to play in the 1980s when he appeared in his final game in October 2010.

A two-time Pro Bowler, Carney is fifth on the list of all-time NFL points scorers and along with Blanda, is the only player to have played across four different decades. He played for seven different teams and won the Super Bowl in 2010 with the Saints.

#4 - Tom Brady, quarterback, Tampa Bay Buccaneers – 44 years, 37 days old

The oldest player to start a Week 1 opening game at a different position other than at kicker, Tom Brady is truly an NFL phenomenon. It's hard to believe we'll ever see his like again, and the most astonishing thing is he seems far from finished.

At 44, Tom Brady is more than double the age of the youngest players in the league, 20-year-olds Kyle Pitts and Penei Sewell. In 2020, Tom Brady threw for 40 touchdowns. That's his biggest tally in 14 years, since he threw for 50 in 2007.

#5 - Morten Andersen, kicker, Minnesota Vikings – 44 years, 24 days

"The Great Dane" Morten Anderson played to the age of 47 in the NFL, but his final Week 1 start was aged 44 in 2004. Tom Brady will overtake Anderson on the list when he takes the field for the Buccaneers on Thursday.

With a career spanning 25 seasons from 1982 to 2007, notably with the Saints and Atlanta Falcons, Anderson is the second highest points scorer in NFL history behind Vinatieri with 2,544 points. Anderson holds the record for most regular season games played (382) and is one of two specialist place kickers in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, alongside Jan Stenerud.


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