August 31, 2021
As of roughly 7:35 p.m. on cutdown day, when we finished collecting data from all 32 NFL team website rosters, the New York Jets had the youngest team in the NFL.
Previously, the youngest teams in the NFL were as follows:
• 2020: Jacksonville Jaguars
• 2019: Miami Dolphins
• 2018: Cincinnati Bengals
• 2017: Cleveland Browns
• Every year from 2012-2016: St. Louis / Los Angeles Rams
The Chicago Bears have the oldest roster in the NFL this year, followed by the Houston Texans, as if they didn't already have enough problems. The Eagles ranked 19th, as in, 19th youngest.
By the time you read this, this data will already out of date as teams continue to make tweaks to their rosters, although even with continued roster movement, the average ages of each team shouldn’t change much. Here are the results, with a recent historic look at the average ages of each team on 53-man cutdown day:
| Team | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 |
| Jets | 25.1 (1) | 26.0 (18) | 26.5 (30) | 26 (19) | 25.6 (6) |
| Lions | 25.2 (2) | 26.1 (22) | 26.2 (23) | 26.6 (27) | 25.8 (12) |
| Browns | 25.3 (3) | 25.4 (4) | 25.4 (3) | 25.3 (2) | 24.2 (1) |
| Panthers | 25.3 (4) | 25.8 (13) | 26.3 (25) | 26.8 (29) | 26.8 (31) |
| Jaguars | 25.5 (5) | 24.9 (1) | 25.6 (8) | 25.5 (5) | 25.6 (7) |
| Rams | 25.5 (6) | 25.1 (3) | 25.6 (10) | 25.5 (4) | 25.1 (2) |
| Giants | 25.6 (7) | 25.7 (9) | 26.0 (18) | 26.1 (21) | 25.7 (9) |
| Colts | 25.6 (8) | 25.7 (10) | 25.6 (7) | 25.6 (8) | 25.6 (5) |
| Cowboys | 25.6 (9) | 25.8 (12) | 26.3 (24) | 25.4 (3) | 26.1 (17) |
| Bengals | 25.6 (10) | 25.9 (15) | 25.7 (13) | 25.2 (1) | 25.5 (3) |
| Steelers | 25.6 (11) | 26.0 (17) | 25.7 (14) | 25.9 (16) | 26.1 (18) |
| Vikings | 25.6 (12) | 25.5 (6) | 25.5 (6) | 25.5 (6) | 26.1 (20) |
| Broncos | 25.6 (13) | 25.6 (7) | 25.7 (11) | 26 (17) | 26 (16) |
| Dolphins | 25.7 (14) | 25.0 (2) | 25.2 (1) | 26.5 (26) | 26.6 (29) |
| Packers | 25.7 (15) | 25.5 (5) | 25.5 (5) | 25.7 (10) | 25.7 (11) |
| Raiders | 25.7 (16) | 25.8 (11) | 25.6 (9) | 27.4 (32) | 26.1 (19) |
| Chargers | 25.8 (17) | 25.6 (8) | 25.8 (15) | 25.8 (14) | 25.7 (8) |
| Ravens | 25.8 (18) | 26.1 (20) | 25.9 (17) | 26 (18) | 26.4 (25) |
| Eagles | 25.9 (19) | 26.0 (19) | 26.6 (31) | 25.7 (11) | 26.4 (23) |
| Falcons | 25.9 (20) | 26.9 (32) | 26.5 (28) | 26.9 (31) | 26.4 (24) |
| Football Team | 26.0 (21) | 25.8 (14) | 26.1 (20) | 26.2 (23) | 25.9 (15) |
| Saints | 26.0 (22) | 26.7 (30) | 26.2 (21) | 26.3 (24) | 26.5 (28) |
| Chiefs | 26.1 (23) | 25.9 (16) | 25.9 (16) | 25.8 (13) | 25.9 (14) |
| Bills | 26.3 (24) | 26.1 (23) | 26.3 (26) | 26.7 (28) | 26.7 (30) |
| Titans | 26.4 (25) | 26.5 (28) | 26.5 (29) | 26.1 (20) | 26.5 (27) |
| Seahawks | 26.4 (26) | 26.2 (25) | 25.5 (4) | 25.7 (9) | 25.8 (13) |
| 49ers | 26.5 (27) | 26.6 (29) | 25.7 (12) | 25.8 (15) | 25.7 (10) |
| Patriots | 26.5 (28) | 26.4 (27) | 27.0 (32) | 26.8 (30) | 26.5 (26) |
| Cardinals | 26.7 (29) | 26.1 (24) | 26.4 (27) | 26.5 (25) | 27.3 (32) |
| Bucs | 26.7 (30) | 26.3 (26) | 25.4 (2) | 26.1 (22) | 26.2 (21) |
| Texans | 26.8 (31) | 26.1 (21) | 26.0 (19) | 25.6 (7) | 25.5 (4) |
| Bears | 27.0 (32) | 26.7 (31) | 26.2 (22) | 25.7 (12) | 26.3 (22) |
To note, "old" doesn't mean "bad," and "young" doesn't mean "good." But certainly, you don't want to be old and bad, like some of the teams on the chart above. And obviously, teams that are both young and talented can feel pretty good about their long-term chances of being consistent contenders.
(Also, no, using the median age for each team is not the better way to do this.) 😇
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