Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady will do something in Week One that has never been done before: He’ll start a game at quarterback in the NFL after his 45th birthday.
Brady turns 45 on August 3, and his announcement on Sunday that he’s coming out of retirement means he will be the Bucs’ starting quarterback at age 45. That will make him the oldest starting quarterback in NFL history.
Currently, Steve DeBerg is the oldest quarterback in NFL history. DeBerg started a game for the Falcons in 1998 at 44 years, 279 days old. Brady is the second-oldest starting quarterback in NFL history; he was 44 years, 173 days old in the Bucs’ playoff loss to the Rams in January.
The oldest player ever to play quarterback at all was George Blanda, who briefly came in at quarterback for the Raiders in 1975, at 48 years, 95 days old. But for the last few years of his career Blanda was primarily a kicker who only played quarterback occasionally off the bench.
Last year, Brady played very well and didn’t show any signs of age. At some point, Brady will be too old to play anymore. But he hasn’t reached that point yet.