:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/19482131/20130613_mje_se2_395.0.jpg)
For years the Dallas Cowboys were thought of as an old team, and up until 2010, that was largely accurate. The Cowboys had grown old, particularly along the offensive line, but that quickly changed in the following offseason when the Cowboys released linemen Marc Colombo (32), Leonard Davis (33), and Andre Gurode (33) - and also released WR Roy Williams (29) and RB Marion Barber (28) for good measure. A year later, the team decided not to re-sign linebackers Keith Brooking (36) and Bradie James (31), released OG Kye Kosier (33), and started rebuilding its offensive line.
On kickoff weekend 2013, the Cowboys' O-line had a combined age of 125 for an average age of 25, one of the younger offensive lines in the league, and none of the starting linebackers was older than 28.
Some NFL pundits have a hard time letting go of tired old narratives and continue to lazily perpetuate the "Cowboys are old" meme. "Oh, look, Jason Witten is 31. Dude is ooooold, same old Cowboys." Never mind that Witten just set the NFL receptions record for tight ends last year.
The NFL today released the average age of the 53-man roster of every NFL team on kickoff weekend 2013. By that time, 36-year old OG Brian Waters was already on the Cowboys roster, yet the Cowboys still came in as one of the youngest rosters in the NFL with an average age of 25.58.
That's a lot younger than some of the more heavily hyped teams in the league currently, like the 49ers (26.64, ranked 26th), the Colts (26.57, 25th), or the Redskins (26.89, 31st). As it turns out, having a young quarterback doesn't automatically make your team younger. Here's an overview of the team ages on opening weekend per the NFL.
| Average age of kickoff weekend rosters, 2013 |
|||||||||||||
| Rank | Team | Average age |
Rank | Team | Average Age |
Rank | Team | Average Age |
|||||
| 1 | STL | 24.98 | 11 | NE | 25.87 | 23 | PIT | 26.42 | |||||
| 2 | CLE | 25.25 | 13 | TB | 25.92 | 24 | BAL | 26.45 | |||||
| 3 | JAC | 25.38 | 14 | CIN | 26.04 | 25 | IND | 26.57 | |||||
| 4 | SEA | 25.43 | 14 | MIN | 26.04 | 25 | SF | 26.64 | |||||
| 5 | BUF | 25.45 | 16 | OAK | 26.09 | 27 | NYG | 26.66 | |||||
| 6 | KC | 25.57 | 17 | HOU | 26.15 | 28 | CAR | 26.70 | |||||
| 7 | DAL | 25.58 | 18 | ATL | 26.23 | 28 | DEN | 26.70 | |||||
| 7 | NYJ | 25.58 | 18 | TEN | 26.23 | 30 | ARI | 26.81 | |||||
| 9 | GB | 25.64 | 20 | CHI | 26.26 | 31 | WAS | 26.89 | |||||
| 10 | PHI | 25.77 | 21 | NO | 26.30 | 32 | DET | 27.06 | |||||
| 11 | MIA | 25.87 | 22 | SD | 26.34 | ||||||||
Of course, age by itself is not going to win you any games in the NFL. But having a young roster may help spare you from some age-related headaches down the line, the kind the Cowboys had to go through in 2010 and 2011.
And if nothing else, the next time you run across a concern troll pointing out problems that don't really exist, you can just move along.