Packers Advance to Middle Age

Always one of the youngest teams in the NFL, the Green Bay Packers are actually a bit older than average. Here are the numbers.

Bill Huber | Aug 31, 2022

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Green Bay Packers

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers kept all 11 draft picks on their opening 53-man roster. Along with undrafted long snapper Jack Coco, that’s 12 rookies.

Nonetheless, the Packers – seemingly forever young – will take a roster with some gray stubble in their collective beard.

According to a post-cuts analysis by Jimmy Kempski of the Philly Voice, the average member of the Packers is 25.9 years old. That ranks 21st in terms of the NFL’s youngest teams.

The Packers ranked 15th last year with an average age of 25.7. Before that, they were among the 10 youngest teams in seven of the previous eight seasons. According to Kempski’s annual crunching of numbers, the Packers’ roster was the fifth-youngest in 2020 (25.5) and 2019 (25.5), 10th-youngest in 2018 (25.7) and 11th-youngest in 2017 (25.7). Before that, the team was really young. It was the third-youngest in 2016 (25.4) and 2015 (25.5) and sixth-youngest in 2014 (25.6) and 2013 (25.4).

The Packers have five players who are older than 30, with quarterback Aaron Rodgers and tight end Marcedes Lewis being 38 and kicker Mason Crosby just days from his 38th birthday. Receiver Randall Cobb turned 32 last week and punter Pat O’Donnell is 31. That's three players on offense, two specialists and zero defenders.

On the other side of the age spectrum, rookie guard Sean Rhyan is 21, second-year receiver Amari Rodgers is one of five players who are 22 and third-year outside linebacker Jonathan Garvin is one of nine players who are 23. Including 24-year-old rookie defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt, 23 players are 24 or younger.

According to Kempski, the Cleveland Browns have the NFL’s youngest roster, followed by the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have the oldest roster, their average age of 27.1 being the only team to top 27.

Packers Roster Cuts, By Position

Quarterback: Danny Etling (pictured).

Running back: Tyler Goodson (pictured), Patrick Taylor, Dexter Williams.

Receiver: Juwann Winfree (pictured), Travis Fulgham, Ishmael Hyman (injured).

Tight end: Alize Mack (injured), Sal Cannella, Nate Becker (injured).

Offensive line: C/G Michal Menet (pictured), OT Caleb Jones.

Defensive line: Jack Heflin (pictured), Chris Slayton, Akial Byers (injured).

Outside linebacker: La’Darius Hamilton (pictured), Kobe Jones.

Inside linebacker: Ray Wilborn (pictured)

Cornerback: Rico Gafford, Kiondre Thomas, Kabion Ento (pictured).

Safety: Shawn Davis (injured), Innis Gaines (injured), De’Vante Cross.

Special teams: Ramiz Ahmed.

Published Aug 31, 2022

BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packers On SI, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.

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Packers Roster Cuts, By Position