Drew Brees recently said that he intends on playing until he's 45. Tom Brady's current contract will have him play at age 40. Peyton Manning's contract has him playing at age 41. Brett Favre played at age 41 and Vinny Testaverde played at age 44.
Ben Roethlisberger said that he has another five years left which would mean he's playing until he's 37, a good age for a quarterback to play to.
Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco is 29. He's not one of the young guns, but he's not one of the greyhounds either. His contract stands to be restructured when he turns 31, which still isn't entering greyhound territory, so the Ravens could still keep Flacco around for an extended period of time.
But how long can they keep him around for? First let's look at Flacco's health, which is a determining factor in passer longevity. Flacco has played 103 games in his career and has only suffered minor injuries. That's incredible health for an NFL player and will help in determining how long Joe Flacco can play.
But there's more than just health to the equation. A passer tends to lose some things he had when he was younger when he ages, namely arm strength, which is a particularly big part of Flacco's game.
Passers such as Brady and Manning have been able to use their brains rather than their arms to dissect opposing defenses which is why it's more feasible to see them playing well for extended amounts of time opposed to gunslingers like Brett Favre.
However, Flacco has never been Brady, which is what makes me think that Flacco can play until he's 35, which still gives him a respectable 12 season career.
What do you think?