Oldest qb to start a game

Nearly all sports, when played at the highest level, are pursuits for the young. Professional careers align with athletic peaks, and the aging process will eventually force everyone, even Hall of Fame locks such as Peyton Manning , to retire. Careers in the NFL are notoriously short, so playing past age 30 is an accomplishment. The oldest NFL quarterbacks of all time put most athletes to shame by playing into their 40s. Even though he played for a long time, he would have needed to play another 10 years to be No.

The man who led the Seattle Seahawks to their first Super Bowl appearance, in , was only about halfway through his career at that point. The Green Bay Packers drafted Boston College product in , and in addition to Seattle, he stopped in Tennessee before finishing his career in Indianapolis as one of the oldest NFL quarterbacks to ever put on the pads. After leaving one storied franchise Chicago after the season, he landed with another the Raiders in after spending time in the USFL.

No one will ever confuse Joe Ferguson for Peyton Manning , but he was good enough to stick around from all the way until However, he is actually the 14th quarterback aged 33 or older to start at least one game in a Vikings uniform. Back in when the Vikings won 15 games and set the record for points scored in a single-season, that was done with a starting signal-caller in Randall Cunningham who was years-old at the time. Minnesota also got into the playoffs in thanks in part to the efforts of a year-old Gus Frerotte starting under center for 11 games.

Interestingly enough, neither Cunningham nor Frerotte are among the five-oldest quarterbacks to start at least one game for the Vikings. A year after retiring at the age of 48, he became a grandfather. NFL quarterbacks who are 44 years old or older include Tom Brady, who is the oldest. Most recently, he was with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but has been in the league for over 20 years, mostly with the New England Patriots. Brunell may have faded silently into the sunset, but his NFL career was actually anything, but forgettable.

Brunell emerged as a solid starter for the Jaguars after the team traded for him in the mids. They swapped 3rd and 5th round picks in the draft for Brnnell, who would propel the expansion team to four straight playoff seasons.

They were the first expansion team to ever qualify for the playoffs four seasons in a row. During the season, Brunnell was benched in favor of Byron Leftwich and was traded to the Washington Redskins the following season.

He is their all-time leader in passing yards, attempts and touchdowns. To add to his quiet legacy, Brunell claimed his first Super Bowl ring in when backed up Drew Brees for the Saints. Soon after the 49ers selected Morrall with their first-round pick in , he found himself moving from team to team. He eventually settled in with the Lions, Giants, Ravens and Dolphins, if you can say that is settling in. At the time of his interview a few years ago, the then year-old former quarterback still looks back on his days with the Colts and wonders how things could have been different in that infamous Super Bowl showdown with the Jets.

Last year, Russell Wilson proved that at 5-foot inches, you can still win the Super Bowl. You just have to play well enough and have the right components around you.

The Hurricanes were favorites, but Flutie completed an all-or-nothing Hail Mary pass in the end zone to Gerard Phelan, which sealed the win for the Boston College Eagles.

Flutie then played in Canada for eight years before he returned to pro football state-side. Flutie was the type of underdog player that fans rooted for and his return to pro football in was well received. His biggest and most controversial NFL moment came during the season when head coach Wade Phillips elected to replace Flutie with Rob Johnson in the playoffs. The former Boston College standout had led the Bills to a record.