Matthew Stafford is 38 years old, making it tough to sign off on him as a fantasy (or NFL) starting quarterback. But everyone said the same a year ago, when he was 37.
Old, immobile, iffy back -- Stafford staying healthy all year, let alone finishing as the league MVP and No. 2 fantasy quarterback, seemed really unlikely. But it happened.
Can he do it again? It doesn't happen a lot, but it's not unprecedented.
I went to the files to see how many 38-year-old or older quarterbacks had finished with top-10 numbers. I then expanded it to top-15, to get a larger group of names.
Since 2000, there have been 19 instances of a 38-year-old (or older) quarterback ranking in the top 15 at the position (1 point for every 20 passing or 10 rushing yards, 4-point TD passes). A little less than once per season. About half of those guys (10) ranked in the top 10.
Those 19 seasons are divided among eight different guys, and just 3 different top-10 quarterbacks in the past 10 years: Brady, Rodgers, Brees. That's the list.
| QBS IN THE TOP 15, 2000-PRESENT (38 OR OLDER) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | Age | GS | Pass | TD | Run | TD | Rk |
| 2024 | Aaron Rodgers, NYJ | 41 | 17 | 3897 | 28 | 107 | 0 | 15 |
| 2022 | Tom Brady, T.B. | 45 | 17 | 4694 | 25 | -1 | 1 | 10 |
| 2022 | Aaron Rodgers, G.B. | 39 | 17 | 3695 | 26 | 94 | 1 | 13 |
| 2021 | Tom Brady, T.B. | 44 | 17 | 5316 | 43 | 81 | 2 | 3 |
| 2021 | Aaron Rodgers, G.B. | 38 | 16 | 4115 | 37 | 101 | 3 | 8 |
| 2020 | Tom Brady, T.B. | 43 | 16 | 4633 | 40 | 6 | 3 | 7 |
| 2020 | Ben Roethlisberger, Pitt. | 38 | 15 | 3803 | 33 | 11 | 0 | 14 |
| 2019 | Philip Rivers, LAC | 38 | 16 | 4615 | 23 | 29 | 0 | 13 |
| 2019 | Tom Brady, N.E. | 42 | 16 | 4057 | 24 | 34 | 3 | 15 |
| 2018 | Drew Brees, N.O. | 39 | 15 | 3992 | 32 | 22 | 4 | 9 |
| 2018 | Tom Brady, N.E. | 41 | 16 | 4355 | 29 | 35 | 2 | 13 |
| 2017 | Tom Brady, N.E. | 40 | 16 | 4577 | 32 | 28 | 0 | 3 |
| 2017 | Drew Brees, N.O. | 38 | 16 | 4334 | 23 | 12 | 2 | 11 |
| 2015 | Tom Brady, N.E. | 38 | 16 | 4770 | 36 | 53 | 3 | 2 |
| 2014 | Peyton Manning, Den. | 38 | 16 | 4727 | 39 | -24 | 0 | 3 |
| 2009 | Brett Favre, Min. | 40 | 16 | 4202 | 33 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| 2009 | Kurt Warner, Ari. | 38 | 15 | 3753 | 26 | 10 | 0 | 13 |
| 2008 | Brett Favre, NYJ | 39 | 16 | 3472 | 22 | 43 | 1 | 11 |
| 2007 | Brett Favre, G.B. | 38 | 16 | 4155 | 28 | 12 | 0 | 7 |
So it happens. I'm inclined to think Stafford is safe to draft for one more season. He won't be taking a lot of hits, won't be running at all; the ball should come out quick. And he's going to have an above-average line and one of the league's best receiving corps.
I don't know if he'll be as good as last year, but seems like he'll still be pretty good.
--Andy Richardson

