We know that even now that final rosters have been set that there is no final rosters in the NFL. Players will be moving around and changes will start flying once the ball kicks off. However, where we stand now we do have 53 players on every team and limited transactions for the next few days.
As we were able to get a hold of the teams initial 53-man rosters, we also can find the average ages of these teams. While it may change a bit the core players are in place, and this should give us a guide into which teams skew older, and which are younger.
Below we can see where the Chicago Bears rank.
With every team down to its initial 53-man roster, here's a listing of the youngest to the oldest rosters in the NFL. This includes all players listed as Active or Reserve/COVID-19 on their respective team websites. pic.twitter.com/HwhCUaBzQC
— Andrew Walker (@AWalkerColts) September 1, 2021
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have the oldest roster in the NFL. Considering they signed so many vets and added Tom Brady, this is no surprise. However, the second oldest is Chicago.
While it is good for the Bucs to be so old, it is not the same feeling in Chicago. The Bears future is Justin Fields, one of the youngest starters, not Tom Brady. So, while the Bucs roster should skew old to fit Brady, the Bears should be trying to get younger to build around Fields. That has not happened yet.
The big issue is that Ryan Pace has found an affinity to keeping veterans. Last offseason Pace signed Nick Foles, Jimmy Graham, and Robert Quinn. All are over the average age of starters. Pace also re-signed Danny Trevathan when his age and contract status suggest maybe he should not.
Of course, lastly, Pace added Jason Peters this offseason. Peters is nearly 40 years old.
On one hand that explains things, on the other, it highlights a huge issue with Pace. Let us break this down.
Quinn has been a letdown and is going to be rotational in year two. Foles is the third quarterback. Trevathan is on IR, and many fans wanted Graham released to keep Kyle Fuller. Oh, and Peters is only hereafter disasters have struck the left tackle spot. These have been irresponsible signings.
They take up serious cap space, they are hard to get out of, and they are veteran players who are not helping now, and have no shot to help the future. Ryan Pace must stop signing old free agents, they never work out for the Chicago Bears.