There are currently five players in the NFL aged 40 years or older. The top two are kickers, the other three are quarterbacks. Most other positions don’t see players’ careers continue into their late 30s, so when Richie Incognito retired two offseasons ago at the age of 35, it wasn’t a huge shock to anyone. More surprising was when a year later, he was back in the NFL.
Wanting to move on from Kelechi Osemele for salary and injury reasons, the Raiders were looking for at least a temporary veteran replacement. There was Incognito, out of football and facing a suspension for several off the field incidents from the past year. So, they figured they take a chance and bring him in.
That suspension came down and it was relatively minor; just two games. Since then, Incognito has been an asset to the team at left guard and looking like he was nowhere near ready for retirement.
“[I]f you ask the players, I would say he’s probably one of the guys that they look up to the most, and he’s a fun guy to be around,” Gruden said of Incognito. “You can’t believe everything you read. Let me say it like that. You know, he’s had some well-documented issues in his past, but he is a great teammate, he’s a great player, he’s a heck of a leader, and we’re glad we have him. We’re trying to keep him on for another three or four years.”
Most of that, you can probably nod your way through it. Right up until the end there. I mean, three or four years? That would make him 39-40 by the time he was done. That’s up there. Incognito is already literally the oldest guard in the NFL. And you want to keep him around for 3-4 more years??
The oldest current offensive linemen in the NFL are center Don Muhlbach and tackle Andrew Whitworth. Both are 38. The only other linemen in their late 30s are tackles Jason Peters (37), and Donald Penn (36). And the Raiders gave Penn up for dead two years ago.
Keeping Incognito on another one-or-two-year deal might be a good idea. So long as they also have a young replacement waiting in the wings. But 3-4 years? That seems a bit far-fetched.
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