Sticking around on a team a long time doesn’t inherently mean a player is good. Maybe they’re just good enough to fill a role. Maybe the team can’t find someone it likes better, even if the player himself isn’t great. Maybe he has incriminating photos of the coach. Who knows, there are lots of things that go into NFL roster decisions. But hey, being on a team is better than … you know, not. Players who hang around on an NFL roster for a while either become fan favorites or the guys fans can’t wait to be done with. Think how beloved Harrison Smith was in Minnesota last year, or how much certain Cowboys fans can’t wait to be done with Dak Prescott. Regardless, today I’m going through every team in the NFL to identify its longest-tenured player. No analysis, no greater meaning, just “Hey, he’s been around a while. Cool.” (A quick note: I’ll mention them when they qualify, but I’m not crowning any long snappers as their teams’ longest-tenured players. Sorry, guys. I’m sure you understand.) First, let’s look at overall age. These are the oldest players in the NFL. That’s a bit subjective — Aaron Rodgers played in 2025 and isn’t currently on a team, but it’s considered generally likely he’ll be back for 2026, so I’m including him. Philip Rivers played in 2025 (somehow) and isn’t currently on a team, but no one thinks he’ll be back for 2026, so I’m not including him. You get the idea.

The Oldest Players in Football

1. Aaron Rodgers, QB, Free Agent (Age: 42)

As I noted a year ago: Aaron Rodgers was born Dec. 2, 1983. That is exactly one week before I was born. Ergo … play forever, Aaron. As long as you’re around, I can hold out very silly hope.

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2. Marcedes Lewis, TE, Free Agent (Age: 41)

Frankly, I expect Lewis is probably done, after only getting into five games and playing 81 total snaps in 2025 for the Broncos. But after initially saying he was done after 2025, there were rumors around the Combine that Lewis is hoping to still play. That’d be fun.

3. Matt Prater, K, Free Agent (Age: 41)

I didn’t even include Prater in this section a year ago, thinking he was done — he was coaching his son’s 9- to 11-year-old team and not on a roster as late as the start of September. But he joined the Bills after Tyler Bass got hurt and remained with the team all year. There’s at least some question whether he makes it back for 2026.

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4. Nick Folk, K, Atlanta Falcons (Age: 41)

Someone about whom there’s no question! Folk not only played in 2025 and is under contract for 2026, but when he signed with the Falcons earlier this month, he signed for two years. Just gonna kick until his leg falls off.

5. Joe Flacco, QB, Free Agent (Age: 41)

After starting for both Cleveland and Cincinnati in 2025, Flacco remains a free agent as of this writing, but all the rumors are that he’s still out there because he’s holding out vain hope for a starting job, and that the Bengals backup job is available to him if he wants it. And if that doesn’t happen … well, the Bengals’ backup-for-now is Josh Johnson, who himself turns 40 in May. Gonna be an old dude either way.

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Longest-Tenured Players on Each Team

To the chart!

(If a player was briefly released and then re-signed and I missed it, apologies. I think I caught them all, but … things happen.)

1. Pittsburgh Steelers: Cameron Heyward, DT

Joined team: April 28, 2011 Days on roster: 5,443 If the Saints and Cameron Jordan work out a reunion (he’s a free agent), he’d tie atop this list. But with Jordan a free agent, Heyward stands alone. If you want to know how long it’s been, Jake Locker was also drafted that day. He’s been out of the league since 2014. Colin Kaepernick was drafted a day later. He’s been a storyline for not being in the NFL anymore for the better part of three presidential terms.

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2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Lavonte David, LB

Joined team: April 27, 2012 Days on roster: 5,078

In this piece a year ago, I noted that while David was the longest-tenured Buccaneer, it wasn’t by that much, because Tampa Bay loved to keep their guys around and Mike Evans and William Gholston were also on more than a decade. Well, Gholston is retired now, and Evans is in San Francisco. David? Still chugging along.

3. Philadelphia Eagles: Lane Johnson, T

Joined team: April 25, 2013 Days on roster: 4,715 There were some rumors after the season that Johnson might hang ‘em up after an injury-plagued 2025 that limited him to 10 games, but he put that to bed fairly quickly, announcing he’d return for at least one more year back in mid-February.

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4. Kansas City Chiefs: Travis Kelce, TE

Joined team: April 26, 2013 Days on roster: 4,714

Like Johnson, Kelce was drafted back in 2013 (although he was a Day 2 pick, compared to Johnson’s Day 1 draft stock). Like Johnson, Kelce was rumored to be considering retirement after a 2025 season that wasn’t up to his usual standards. And like Johnson, Kelce agreed to come back for at least one more year.

5. Atlanta Falcons: Jake Matthews, T

Joined team: May 8, 2014 Days on roster: 4,337 It’s not just that Matthews has been a Falcon for such a long time; he also is always on the field. Dude missed Week 2 of his rookie season in 2014. He hasn’t missed a single game since. That’s an active 195-game streak. Just chugging right along.

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6. Washington Commanders: Tress Way, P

Joined team: Aug. 20, 2014 Days on roster: 4,233 This is our first player who is not on his first NFL franchise. Way has never played for anyone but the Commanders, but he was originally signed as an undrafted free agent to the Bears in 2013, but he never played for them that year and was waived just before the 2014 season, when Washington picked him up. And … that’s been it. He’s 35 now (36 next month), he’s made three Pro Bowls (including 2025), and he signed on for another year with the team back in February.

7. Baltimore Ravens: Ronnie Stanley, T

Joined team: April 28, 2016 Days on roster: 3,616 After missing a lot of time for a few years there (he missed 36 of 68 games 2020-2023), Stanley has stayed pretty healthy the last couple years, playing 33 of 34 games for the Ravens. The Ravens can (and probably will) get out from his contract after either of the next two years, but for now, he’s a mainstay on the line.

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8. Los Angeles Rams: Tyler Higbee, TE Dallas Cowboys: Dak Prescott, QB Houston Texans: Ka’imi Fairbairn, K

Joined team: April 30, 2016 Days on roster: 3,614

These are listed in this order because, while all three joined their teams the same day, that is the official order. Higbee was the 110^th overall pick in 2016, with Prescott going 125^th. Fairbairn was an undrafted free agent, but the signing came almost immediately after the draft. All three have just stuck around.

11. San Francisco 49ers: Kyle Juszczyk, FB

Joined team: March 9, 2017 Days on roster: 3,301 Juice-Check was considered maybe the best fullback in football before he left Baltimore for San Francisco almost a decade ago now. Since joining the 49ers, all he’s done is make the Pro Bowl every single season (admittedly at an easy-to-make-the-Pro-Bowl position). He’s scored at least one, but only more than 4 once, touchdown in every years with San Francisco despite topping out at 354 scrimmage yards. He’s just a grinder who does the work.

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12. Cleveland Browns: Myles Garrett, EDGE Denver Broncos: Garett Bolles, T

Joined team: April 27, 2017 Days on roster: 3,252 The Browns could upend this part of the list if they re-sign Joel Bitonio (on the team since the 2014 Draft), but given they’ve brought in a whole different line already this offseason and Bitonio seemed to say his goodbyes, it doesn’t appear likely. So we have Garrett and Garett, a duo that really want to test my spelling chops, chugging along for the teams that drafted them in the first round of 2017.

14. Arizona Cardinals: Budda Baker, S Buffalo Bills: Dion Dawkins, G Carolina Panthers: Taylor Moton, T New Orleans Saints: Alvin Kamara, RB

Joined team: April 28, 2017 Days on roster: 3,251 The first three were all second-round picks back in 2017 (with Dawkins and Moton going back-to-back to end the second round) and have stuck around with their teams since, and they’re all still good, with Baker and Dawkins making the Pro Bowl in 2025 and Moton playing 145 of a possible 149 games in his career. Kamara was a third-rounder the same day, and he’s not going as well as the other guys, but then he’s a running back. Cut him some slack. (Worth noting: Reid Ferguson — with the Bills since May 2, 2016 — and JJ Jansen — with the Panthers since April 13, 2009 [!!] — would top their teams’ lists if they weren’t long snappers.) (Also worth noting: The Saints could still re-sign Cameron Jordan, sitting out there as a free agent, and then they’d jump to No. 1 here.)

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18. Indianapolis Colts: Grover Stewart, DT

Joined team: April 29, 2017 Days on roster: 3,250 At the top, I mentioned that not every long-tenured player is a star. Sometimes they’re just good enough for a team not to need to go out of its way for a replacement. That’s Stewart. He’s been with the Colts for nine seasons. He’s played at least 15 games in eight of them. He’s never made a Pro Bowl. He’s fine. Good player. No one’s gonna write glowing histories of him. But he’s still there.

19. Las Vegas Raiders: Kolton Miller, T Los Angeles Chargers: Derwin James Jr., S

Joined team: April 26, 2018 Days on roster: 2,888

These two were selected two picks apart in the 2018 draft, with Tremaine Edmunds between them. In fact, everything from Pick 10 to Pick 20 in that draft was kind of a hit: Minkah Fitzpatrick, Vita Vea, Daron Payne, Marcus Davenport, Miller, Edmunds, James, Jaire Alexander, Leighton Vander Esch, Frank Ragnow. And who were the pieces of bread making that star sandwich? Josh Rosen at 10, Billy Price at 21. Ouch.

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21. Minnesota Vikings: Brian O’Neill, T

Joined team: April 27, 2018 Days on roster: 2,887 Is Harrison Smith going to return? He’s been on the Vikings since 2012. All indications a couple months ago were that he was hanging it up after the season, but more recent rumors have at least kept the door open. But if he is done, we move on to O’Neill, who joined the Vikings in the second round of the 2018 draft. He’s made a couple Pro Bowls, played at least 14 games in each of his eight seasons. Good guy to have around.

22. Seattle Seahawks: Michael Dickson, P Jacksonville Jaguars: Logan Cooke, P

Joined team: April 28, 2018 Days on roster: 2,886 Here we have a couple teams who drafted punters on Day 3 of the draft (Dickson in the fifth round, Cooke in the seventh) and said “OK, done with that position for the next generation.” It’s worked out pretty well — Dickson has made a Pro Bowl and an All-Pro, Cooke the same. It feels kinda silly to draft a punter sometimes, but if you can get a guy who makes it at least nine years with the team, you aren’t going to complain too hard.

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24. New York Giants: Dexter Lawrence II, DL Tennessee Titans: Jeffery Simmons, DL

Joined team: April 25, 2019 Days on roster: 2,524 Two defensive stalwarts. Two Pro Bowlers (three for Lawrence, four for Simmons). Two late-teens picks in the first round of 2019. Two anchors of their units. Even as their teams have gone through quasi-rebuilds, these guys haven’t gone anywhere.

26. Cincinnati Bengals: Drew Sample, TE

Joined team: April 26, 2019 Days on roster: 2,523 Sample is entering his eighth season as a Bengal. He’s only topped 165 yards once, has never reached 350. The team keeps cycling through TE1s — Mike Gesicki, C.J. Uzomah, Tyler Eifert, Hayden Hurst — but Sample just chugs along as the TE2/TE3. Is he going to get his number retired? Nope. Is he going to be able to open a car dealership in the Northern Kentucky area after he retires if that’s what he wants? Yup.

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27. Detroit Lions: Jack Fox, P Miami Dolphins; Zach Sieler, EDGE

Joined team: Dec. 5, 2019 Days on roster: 2,300 When guys were drafted on the same day, I list them in the order they were selected — the first overall pick before the second, etc., because they were technically on the team a few minutes longer. But in this case, Fox and Sieler were waiver claims of their respective teams the same day, and I patently refuse to even try to figure out who joined which team first. As a practical matter, it was probably simultaneous, given it would have come out on the same waiver report. Hey, whatever, the teams are happy with them.

29. Green Bay Packers: Jordan Love, QB

Joined team: April 23, 2020 Days on roster: 2,160

I’m not a Packers fan. Never have been, probably never will be. But there’s a small part of me that wanted them to win the Super Bowl this past year, just for the “Brett Favre won a Super Bowl for the Packers at age 27, Aaron Rodgers won a Super Bowl for the Packers at age 27, Jordan Love won a Super Bowl for the Packers at age 27” thing to be true. Alas. Now I’ll just have to wait for him to go crazy and join the Jets at the end of his career to follow in their footsteps instead.

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30. Chicago Bears: Cole Kmet, TE/Jaylon Johnson, CB

Joined team: April 24, 2020 Days on roster: 2,159 After back-to-back Pro Bowls in 2023 and 2024, injuries limited Johnson to only seven games in 2025. Still, he probably has at least as bright a future with the Bears as Kmet — Johnson’s under contract for two more years and still a good corner. Meanwhile, Kmet, while he is still good, was almost immediately surpassed by Colston Loveland among Bears tight ends. As the Bears’ new crop of guys start to get more expensive, don’t expect Kmet to be on the team that many more years.

31. New England Patriots: Mike Onwenu, G

Joined team: April 25, 2020 Days on roster: 2,158 I published last year’s version of this article on March 27 of last year, and at the time Ja’Whaun Bentley was the longest-tenured Patriot. The team cut Bentley … March 28. So I do appreciate them at least waiting for the article to come out. And Patriots fans probably hope 2020 sixth-rounder Onwenu gets a longer run as the title-holder than Bentley did.

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32. New York Jets: Jamien Sherwood, LB

Joined team: May 1, 2021 Days on roster: 1,788 Geno Smith is the current Jet who was on the team the longest ago, of course, having joined the team on April 26, 2013 (4,714 days ago). Of course, he’s been a Giant, Charger, Seahawk and Raider since then, and his current Jets tenure is only 12 days old. So that brings us to Sherwood, the Jets’ fifth-round pick in 2021. After being a backup his first few seasons, Sherwood became a starter the last two. (Thomas Hennessy, the Jets’ long snapper, has been with the team since Aug. 28, 2017. Not bad for a guy who was rated the No. 19 long snapper in his draft class by NFLDraftScout.com.)