Fast forward to the year 2042. A 40-year-old Caleb Williams is entering his 19th NFL season looking to establish the most career passing yards in league history. Several years earlier, Patrick Mahomes had taken the mark from Tom Brady, with Brady in the FOX broadcast booth.
It’s a likely scenario, according to Hall of Famer Troy Aikman, who told Kevin Clark on the latest episode of Omaha Productions’ This is Football that Aikman would’ve played much longer had he played in 2024.
“I think the norm going forward is going to be we’re going to see quarterbacks playing up until they’re 40 years old and beyond,” Aikman said. “I think that if anyone retires before they’re 40, it’s going to be a little bit surprising. One, because of the salaries, but also the quarterbacks just aren’t taking the punishment we took back when I played.”
Williams, like Aikman a No. 1 overall selection, will be the NFL’s second-youngest starting quarterback when he and fellow rookie Rome Odunze make their debuts at home Sunday against Tennessee (1 p.m. ET, FOX). Meanwhile, in Indianapolis (1 p.m. ET, CBS), Anthony Richardson will square off against Houston’s C.J. Stroud, the youngest and third-youngest respective starting quarterbacks in Week 1 this season.
In fact, 24 quarterbacks under 30 are expected to start their teams’ first games. That would be the most in league history, per Elias Sports Bureau (there were 23 last season). It starts Thursday night (8:20 p.m. ET, NBC) with Lamar Jackson, 27, against Mahomes, 28. Jackson (2019 and 2023 Most Valuable Player) and Mahomes (2018 and 2022) will play in the first NFL game ever in which a Week 1 matchup has featured opposing players each with multiple MVPs. It also will mark the first meeting in any week to feature opposing players both under 30 each with multiple MVPs.
Get used to those types of meetings. Aikman said the league’s newer quarterback-protection rules are the biggest difference between the era in which he won three Super Bowls over his 12-year career and today.
“You get a false sense of security back in the pocket knowing you’re not going to get hit. You hang onto the ball a little bit more. And anytime a quarterback does get hit, you see them and they’re immediately looking for a flag. I should put together a highlight reel of the worst hits that I took and you would think that these players would probably have been banned from the NFL and there wasn’t even a penalty on the play. It’s changed a lot, for sure.”
Aikman and Joe Buck will anchor the ESPN Monday Night Football booth at Levi’s Stadium (8:15 p.m. ET) when 40-year-old Aaron Rodgers and the Jets meet 24-year-old Brock Purdy and the 49ers.