September 01, 2018
As of roughly 9:00 p.m. on cut-down day, when we finished collecting data from all 32 NFL team website rosters, the Cincinnati Bengals had the youngest team in the NFL. Previously, the Cleveland Browns held that title in 2017, and the St. Louis / Los Angeles Rams for five straight seasons before that, from 2012 to 2016. The Oakland Raiders have the oldest roster in the NFL not just in 2018, but also since I began doing this exercise in 2012.
By the time you read this, this data will already out of date as teams continue to make tweaks to their rosters, although even with continued roster movement, the average ages of each team shouldn’t change much.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 cut down day:
| Team | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 |
| Bengals | 25.2 (1) | 25.5 (3) | 26.3 (23) | 26.3 (20) | 25.9 (14) | 25.9 (12) |
| Browns | 25.3 (2) | 24.2 (1) | 25.1 (2) | 26.1 (16) | 25.7 (9) | 25.3 (2) |
| Cowboys | 25.4 (3) | 26.1 (17) | 26 (12) | 26 (14) | 25.4 (4) | 26 (15) |
| Rams | 25.5 (4) | 25.1 (2) | 25 (1) | 24.9 (1) | 25.1 (1) | 25 (1) |
| Jaguars | 25.5 (5) | 25.6 (7) | 25.4 (4) | 25.3 (2) | 25.2 (2) | 25.4 (5) |
| Vikings | 25.5 (6) | 26.1 (20) | 26.6 (31) | 25.8 (7) | 25.6 (5) | 26 (13) |
| Texans | 25.6 (7) | 25.5 (4) | 26.2 (19) | 25.8 (5) | 26 (16) | 26.2 (20) |
| Colts | 25.6 (8) | 25.6 (5) | 26.5 (29) | 27.2 (32) | 26.7 (29) | 26.6 (24) |
| Seahawks | 25.7 (9) | 25.8 (13) | 25.6 (7) | 25.9 (12) | 25.7 (7) | 25.3 (4) |
| Packers | 25.7 (10) | 25.7 (11) | 25.4 (3) | 25.5 (3) | 25.6 (6) | 25.4 (6) |
| Eagles | 25.7 (11) | 26.4 (23) | 26.5 (28) | 26.7 (28) | 26.3 (19) | 25.7 (10) |
| Bears | 25.7 (12) | 26.3 (22) | 25.9 (10) | 26.2 (19) | 26.7 (30) | 26.8 (29) |
| Chiefs | 25.8 (13) | 25.9 (14) | 25.5 (6) | 25.8 (6) | 25.3 (3) | 25.7 (8) |
| Chargers | 25.8 (14) | 25.7 (8) | 25.7 (9) | 26.3 (21) | 26.6 (28) | 26.3 (21) |
| 49ers | 25.8 (15) | 25.7 (10) | 26.1 (16) | 25.8 (8) | 26.4 (22) | 26.6 (25) |
| Steelers | 25.9 (16) | 26.1 (18) | 26.3 (24) | 26.6 (26) | 26.3 (18) | 26.5 (23) |
| Broncos | 26 (17) | 26 (16) | 25.5 (5) | 26.2 (18) | 25.8 (12) | 26.8 (28) |
| Ravens | 26 (18) | 26.4 (25) | 26.4 (27) | 26 (15) | 26 (17) | 26.2 (18) |
| Jets | 26 (19) | 25.6 (6) | 26.2 (21) | 26.6 (27) | 25.9 (13) | 25.6 (7) |
| Titans | 26.1 (20) | 26.5 (27) | 25.9 (11) | 25.8 (9) | 26.4 (23) | 26.2 (19) |
| Giants | 26.1 (21) | 25.7 (9) | 26 (14) | 26.5 (25) | 26.8 (31) | 26.7 (27) |
| Bucs | 26.1 (22) | 26.2 (21) | 25.7 (8) | 25.9 (11) | 25.7 (8) | 26 (14) |
| Redskins | 26.2 (23) | 25.9 (15) | 26.4 (25) | 26.2 (17) | 26.4 (24) | 26.8 (31) |
| Saints | 26.3 (24) | 26.5 (28) | 26.4 (26) | 26.7 (29) | 26.3 (20) | 26.3 (22) |
| Cardinals | 26.5 (25) | 27.3 (32) | 26.1 (17) | 26.4 (22) | 26.6 (27) | 26.8 (30) |
| Dolphins | 26.5 (26) | 26.6 (29) | 26.2 (20) | 25.6 (4) | 25.9 (15) | 25.7 (9) |
| Lions | 26.6 (27) | 25.8 (12) | 26.1 (18) | 26.5 (24) | 26.3 (21) | 27.2 (32) |
| Bills | 26.7 (28) | 26.7 (30) | 26.3 (22) | 25.9 (10) | 25.7 (10) | 25.3 (3) |
| Panthers | 26.8 (29) | 26.8 (31) | 26.5 (30) | 26.9 (31) | 26.6 (26) | 26.6 (26) |
| Patriots | 26.8 (30) | 26.5 (26) | 26.1 (15) | 25 (13) | 25.8 (11) | 25.9 (11) |
| Falcons | 26.9 (31) | 26.4 (24) | 27.1 (32) | 26.8 (30) | 26.6 (25) | 26.1 (16) |
| Raiders | 27.4 (32) | 26.1 (19) | 26 (13) | 26.5 (23) | 27 (32) | 26.1 (17) |
Note: Every year I do this study, I seem to get the same basic comment, which I'll address ahead of time.
"The difference between the Bengals and Raiders is only 2.18 years. So what?"
While 2.18 years may not be a monumental difference between two individual players, keep in mind that these are the average ages of 53 players per team.
2.18 years on average * 53 players = A difference of about 116 total years between the Bengals and Raiders.
In other words, if you took the 23 oldest Raiders and shaved 5 years off each of their ages, their roster still wouldn't be as young as the Bengals' roster.
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