This past week has been big for old guys. Matthew Stafford signed a one-year extension that will keep him with the Rams through 2027, and Aaron Rodgers inked a deal with the Steelers and said that this was going to be his last season before he retires.
That means in 2032, Rodgers’ name is going to be on the Hall of Fame ballot. It’s safe to say that, as a society, we’d all be perfectly fine with him not being a first-ballot guy. So, who are some of the other people who could retire after this season and be right there with him?
Joe Flacco, Cincinnati Bengals, QB
Joe Flacco can still spin it. The Bengals know that, and they decided to pay him a cool $6 million to be Joe Burrow’s backup again in 2026.
That’s great for both him and the team, to a point. He’s still making money playing football, and the Bengals have a guy that they can trust… But he’s 41 years old, and Burrow has picked up a pretty nasty little habit of getting hurt (you don’t want to be the Comeback player of the Year twice).
The only rational way that Flacco dips after this season is if Burrow has another early-season injury, and Flacco has to play a way more substantial number of snaps. Even then, that retirement news wouldn’t come until around this time next year, when OTAs are happening, and his body hasn’t fully recovered.
So… Root for Burrow’s health, I guess?
Aaron Jones , Minnesota Vikings, RB
If your name isn’t Derrick Henry, you don’t want to be a running back in the NFL after you turn 30 years old. Aaron Jones is going to be turning 32 years old in December.
He dealt with a hamstring last season, but even when he played, he looked like a shell of himself. There wasn’t that breakaway speed that we saw from him from 2019 to 2023 in Green Bay… And it just kind of stinks because he was unbelievably fun to watch.
If things go poorly again this season, it would be kind of nice to see him go out on his shield rather than watch him grind his bones into dust for another year.
Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs, TE
Hypothetical: You married one of the most successful musicians in the world, you won three Super Bowls with the Kansas City Chiefs, you’re arguably the best tight end to play the sport, your quarterback is coming off a brutal knee injury, and you’re slowing down as a player.
Also, your brother, who will also be going into the Hall of Fame, retired two years ago, and the podcast that you have with him is absolutely printing money.
Are you going to retire after a 2026 farewell tour? Probably.
Lane Johnson, Philadelphia Eagles, RT
Lane Johnson is going to go down as one of the best, if not the best, right tackles in the history of the NFL. He’s going into his 14th season in the NFL, and has only allowed 21 sacks in his career… 13 of which came in his first three seasons.
But the damage of 13 seasons on an NFL offensive line adds up, and last year, it wrecked him. He was getting dinged up in the first half of the season and missing big chunks of games, and then in Week 11, he had a Lisfranc sprain that ended up taking him out for the rest of the season.
He’s a tough dude, too. In 2022, he tore something in his abdomen, had surgery, came back, re-tore it, and then just played through it. If he’s not having the season-ending Lisfranc surgery that puts him on IR, and he’s not playing, that means his body is breaking down (I’m not a doctor, but that logic sounds right).
Any offensive snap with Lane Johnson is a gift at this point. If the Eagles‘ offense does look stale like it did for most of last season, just focus your eyes on the right tackle and appreciate him while he’s in our lives. He rocks.
Calais Campbell, Baltimore Ravens, DT
For the past three years, I thought Calais Campbell was going to retire… And I’ll be damned if I’m going to stop thinking that this year, too. The dude is going to be 40 years old by the time the season starts… His 18th NFL season, by the way. He’ll spend it with the Baltimore Ravens.
He’s played over 10,000 defensive snaps, had 117 sacks, forced 18 fumbles, 13 fumble recoveries, three interceptions, and has three safeties. It’s been unbelievable.
At some point, he’s got to call it a career… and if he doesn’t? Well, I’ll see you all here at the same time next year.
Nick Folk, Atlanta Falcons, K
If you’ve ever played fantasy football, you’ve had Nick Folk on your team at some point. This year he’s with the Atlanta Falcons. He’s turning 42 years old in November, and he’s been a kicker in the NFL for the past 19 years. That’s nuts.
There’s absolutely a world where he just keeps kicking until his leg bones turn into goop and the whole thing falls off… But that could take two or three years.
We’re talking about the guy who has led the NFL in made field goal percentage for the past three seasons. That’s no small feat. Will he go out on top, or will he get the guaranteed money that the Falcons are paying him this year and split? I’m partial to thinking that football is a young man’s game, even in the parts that aren’t really football, and he’ll be gone sooner rather than later.
Mr. Folk, if you’re reading this: Thank you for that 2020 Week 14 game where you kicked four field goals. Those got me into the playoffs that season. That was pretty cool of you to do.
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