National Football League

Tom Brady opens up about the NFL's youth movement at the quarterback position

Published Sep. 15, 2021 10:34 p.m. ET

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By Martin Rogers
FOX Sports Columnist

Tom Brady has been making us all think the wrong thing for the past couple of years, but thankfully he was on hand to set things straight this week.

Ever since he passed the age of 40, Brady has had us believing the quarterback position in the National Football League was getting older and older, with seemingly no end in sight to the trend and no limit to how impressively he and a group of other old dudes could defy the norms of time.

Brady has the magic cocktail of being able to extend his shelf life with his devotion to healthy living and still perform physically at an age (now 44) where his brain’s hard drive of acquired football knowledge is like a veritable encyclopedia.

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Yet with Drew Brees, Eli Manning and Philip Rivers now retired, Brady is an outlier, and if he’s still around for a couple more years, he may soon be a complete anomaly. Brady doesn’t appear to be going anywhere, but it would be no surprise to see Ben Roethlisberger (39), Ryan Fitzpatrick (38) or even Aaron Rodgers (37) opt for a career change in the near future.

At the other end of the scale, the NFL’s QB corps are swaying young, way young, something not lost on Brady as he put his feet up on Sunday after having won the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' season opener three days earlier.

"I don’t remember this many rookies playing," Brady said on his Let’s Go! podcast Monday. "Even the second-year guys. Tua (Tagovailoa), (Justin) Herbert, (Joe) Burrow. Trevor Lawrence. (Justin) Fields played a little bit. Trey Lance played a little bit. Zach Wilson is playing. Mac Jones is playing.

"That’s a lot of young quarterbacks. Gone are the days of Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, Philip Rivers, Eli Manning. You know, those are the guys I’m used to hearing about. I'll be forgotten here soon. I'll move on and they'll be onto someone else but that's just the way football goes, as does life."

Three rookies are currently starting in the NFL, Lawrence in Jacksonville, Jones in New England and Wilson with the New York Jets, and all three lost their first outings. But teams are unafraid to put their faith in youth, and each time a fresh-faced QB replaces a veteran, it lowers the average age.

Jones (23) beat out Cam Newton (32). When Fitzpatrick got injured, in came Taylor Heinicke, nearly a decade younger. Rivers, now happily coaching high school ball in Alabama, was 38 when he called it quits after spending 16 years with the Los Angeles Chargers, and one final one with the Indianapolis Colts. The Chargers' incumbent QB, Herbert, is 23 and feels like the team’s forever guy.

Baker Mayfield was drafted three years ago, and he’s only the 14th youngest starter in the NFL. The median age for starters is currently 26.5, with Jared Goff (26) and Jameis Winston (27) situated right in the middle of the pack.

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Having a basis of youth at the most important position of all is exciting because it provides so much to look at. With rookies, of course, there is the ever-present possibility that something could go wrong on account of their inexperience. Sometimes no lead feels secure, sometimes every throw seems like it carries a greater likelihood of interception risk.

Last weekend, Lawrence threw three picks for the Jacksonville Jaguars to go along with his trio of touchdowns. Wilson threw one pick and Jones had none. All three showed glimmers of potential to justify all that draft capital spent on them, and when rookies shine it has a thrill all of its own.

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Keeping the faith through early teething troubles can have its rewards, too. Kyler Murray looks ready to take another big leap forward, while Philadelphia Eagles fans were excited enough by Jalen Hurts’ Week 1 starting performance that his jersey sales skyrocketed.

"In an era of unprecedented passing acumen, the NFL is only getting more fun," wrote Kevin Patra on NFL.com. "Each rookie QB class adding to that signal-calling talent only makes the future brighter."

Having a starting QB on a cheap rookie contract is one of the biggest potential competitive advantages available to a team. The best of the recent draft crops are perpetuating the thought that modern QBs are better prepared for NFL life than at any time in league history.

It is a tough and grueling league and adapting seamlessly right away is just as difficult as last weekend’s rookie results would suggest. Even so, the current markers suggest being a young QB in the NFL is to have time – and the trend of current managerial thought – on your side.

Even Brady, the guy who has been around forever and may never leave, can tell which way the wind is blowing.

Martin Rogers is a columnist for FOX Sports and the author of the FOX Sports Insider Newsletter. You can subscribe to the newsletter here.

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Tom Brady

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tua Tagovailoa

Justin Herbert

Joe Burrow

Trevor Lawrence

Justin Fields

Trey Lance

Zach Wilson

Mac Jones

New England Patriots

New York Jets

Jacksonville Jaguars

National Football League

Marcellus Wiley

Jay Glazer

Martin Rogers

Colin Cowherd

The Herd with Colin Cowherd

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