How NFL players performed in their 20th season

By his 20th season, Groza had morphed from the rare tackle-kicker combination to just a kicker. An injury suffered several years earlier ended the Hall of Famer's elite run as a Browns offensive lineman. A first-team All-Pro tackle from 1952-55, the latter two seasons helping Otto Graham guide Cleveland to championships, Groza retired before the 1960 season due to a back malady. But he returned in '61 and played seven more seasons. His 20th, 1966, included a career-high 51 extra points (for the NFL's No. 2 offense). However, "The Toe" was not strong on field goals that year, making just 9 of 23 attempts. 

Like Groza, Blanda spent the better part of his career excelling at another position (quarterback) before settling into a kicker role. The longest-tenured player in NFL history (26 seasons), Blanda won two AFL titles as the Oilers quarterback in the early 1960s. But the Oilers cut him after the 1966 season, leading him to Oakland via free agency. In a 12-1-1 season that ended in the final AFL championship game, the 1969 Raiders used Blanda as their kicker. He was 45-for-45 on PATs, but the then-42-year-old specialist/Daryle Lamonica's backup was sixth in the AFL in field goal accuracy (20-for-37). 

Among pure quarterbacks, Morrall's 21 seasons are tied for the most all time. By his 20th, the former No. 2 overall pick was on his sixth team: the Dolphins. After starting nine games for the perfect 1972 Dolphins, Morrall returned to his role as Bob Griese's backup for the rest of his career. In 1975 he was called upon to make one start (against the 3-11 Patriots). The former 49er, Steeler, Lion, Giant and Colt led the Dolphins (10-4 in '75) to a 20-7 road win that December day . At 41, he was the oldest QB to win a game until Doug Flutie 29 years later. Morrall retired after the 1976 season. 

The only defensive lineman on this list, Marshall was the last original Viking to retire. Hall of Fame Purple People Eaters Alan Page and Carl Eller left Minnesota after the 1977 and '78 seasons, respectively, but Marshall received a Vikings sendoff. By season's end, Minnesota's warhorse right defensive end had played 282 straight games, breaking the previous NFL record by 57. (This remains the iron-man mark for NFL defenders.) In 1979, Marshall started 16 games but played sparingly. The undersized end did, however, record two sacks in his final game at Minnesota's Metropolitan Stadium and was carried off the field. 

It took a while before the league saw another player hit Year 20. Like Marshall's, Slater's run was one of the more impressive in NFL history. He played for only the Rams in a 20-year career and closed it out in the franchise's first St. Louis season. An injury limited Slater to only one game in 1995, however. But by playing that September '95 contest, Slater became the first non-kicker to play 20 seasons for one team. The seven-time Pro Bowl right tackle, who protected 24 quarterbacks (and opened holes for the likes of Lawrence McCutcheon, Eric Dickerson and Jerome Bettis), played until age 41.

Like Blanda, when Andersen got to Year 20, it was not a sign his career was winding down. The Giants replaced their kicker of eight seasons, Brad Daluiso, with Andersen in August 2001. The future Hall of Famer spent 13 years in New Orleans and then six in Atlanta en route to seven Pro Bowls. During his one-season stay in New York, the Dane showed he could still hit long-range field goals. He made 2-of-5 from 50-plus yards in a 23-for-28 accuracy season. Despite a knee issue, the southpaw specialist kicked in all 16 Giant games that year. He migrated to Kansas City in 2002 and did not retire until 2008.

That same year, Andersen's chief competition for the NFL's scoring record was still in Minnesota. Despite his disastrous miss in the 1998 NFC title game, marring one of the NFL's all-time great kicking seasons, Anderson remained with the Vikings for four more seasons. The South Africa native's 20th NFL slate included only 18 field goal attempts — a non-strike-season career low — but he made 15 of those. None of Anderson's makes came from beyond 44 yards; the Vikings did not attempt a 50-yard try that year. He played the '01 season as the NFL's all-time scoring leader. It took Morten Andersen until 2006 to eclipse him. 

Cornerback royalty, Green stands alone for longevity at a position mandating some of the best athleticism in all of sports. His 295 Redskins games are third-most with one team. Green never moved to safety and started four games in 2002. But at age 42, the former NFL speed kingpin was working more as a mentor to Champ Bailey and other Washington defenders. While 2002 marked the only season in which Green did not intercept a pass, his 19 years with an INT remains a record. Steve Spurrier used the Hall of Famer as a reserve for most of the season but started him in Week 17 — a 20-14 win over the Cowboys.

Junkin retired after the 2001 season but was lured back to action in advance of a Giants-49ers playoff game. The Giants saw their second long snapper of 2002, Dan O'Leary, go on injured reserve after Week 17. Jim Fassel, a Cardinals staffer during Junkin's Arizona tenure, sought the 41-year-old specialist for the playoffs. The move backfired, with Junkin playing a key role on one of the era's more controversial plays. His errant snap on a Matt Bryant game-winning field goal try led to a crazy sequence, an NFL formal letter of apology and, most significantly, a 49ers comeback win — after which Junkin regretted unretiring.

After spending his 19th season with the Rams, who voyaged to the NFC divisional round, the veteran punter reupped with St. Louis for the 2004 campaign. This marked Landeta's second Rams stint; he was with the franchise when it moved to St. Louis nearly a decade earlier. A former Pro Bowler and two-time Super Bowl champion with the Giants, Landeta did not finish the '04 season with the Rams. The playoff-bound team released him that November, following a game that featured an 86-yard Bills punt return TD. Landeta played five more games, with the 2005 Eagles, before retiring. He was the last USFL player to retire.

The man who put the NFL's receiving records out of reach posted his final stats as a Seahawk 15 years ago. Rice's Raiders tenure had run its course, with the 42-year-old legend a non-factor to start the season (five catches in six games). The Seahawks traded a seventh-round pick for Rice in October 2004 and put him to greater use. Working with former 49ers offensive coordinator Mike Holmgren, Rice caught 25 passes for 362 yards and three TDs in Seattle. This included a last-hurrah, eight-reception, 145-yard game against the Cowboys. Rice went without a bye in 2004, playing 17 games. He retired as a Bronco in 2005.

Of the non-specialists, Brown is probably this list's most random name. But the guard showed freakish longevity. A former eighth-round pick of the St. Louis Cardinals in 1986, Brown made it to the 2005 season. Only a Pro Bowler once (with the 2001 49ers), Brown was nevertheless a full-time starter until his age-42 season (2004). The Redskins, who employed Brown from 1989-95, signed him to a pair of one-year deals in 2004 and '05. The oldest offensive lineman in NFL history, Brown started two games and played in 15 during his age-43 season. He announced his retirement after the Redskins' divisional-round loss in Seattle. 

The 2006 season was the 21-year veteran's least active slate. Testaverde spent one season in New England but threw only three passes as Tom Brady's backup. One of those, a 6-yarder to Troy Brown, went for a touchdown in Week 17 to give Testaverde a record 20 seasons with a TD pass. (He got to 21 as a Panther in 2007.) The former Heisman Trophy winner spent the season's first two months unsigned but caught on with the Pats in November. Testaverde came close to a Super Bowl sideline cameo, but the Colts edged the Patriots in an AFC title game classic. Vinny started six games for the 2007 Panthers before retiring.

Known mostly for his work as a Charger (and the time his missed extra point diminished the River City Relay's impact), Carney was still going into his 40s. However, 2007 featured multiple relocations for one of the era's best kickers. The Saints cut Carney in April, but he found work with the playoff-bound Jaguars after Josh Scobee's early-season injury. The then-43-year-old Carney made 9 of 11 field goals in eight Jags games but was released after Scobee's return. Carney landed in Kansas City for the season's final five games. In 2008, he resurfaced with the Giants and became the oldest kicker to make a Pro Bowl. 

Feagles ended his 20th season better than anyone else on this list, helping the 2007 Giants reel off a historic upset to win Super Bowl XLII. In a 22-year career, Feagles showed consistency that did not force him to bounce around in his final seasons. The punter played for five teams but played multiple seasons with all of them and never missed a game, playing 352 in all. That ranks fourth all time. In 2007, the 41-year-old specialist averaged only 40.4 yards per punt. But in a Super Bowl with eight combined punts, he did not break stride with the Patriots' Chris Hanson. Following the 2009 season, Feagles retired as a Giant.

The Hall of Fame linebacker spent four seasons with the Patriots, but the final two came as an in-season relief option. In 2008 the Pats signed Seau in December. A year later, he returned to the team in October and appeared in seven games. The only linebacker to play a 20th NFL season, Seau made 23 tackles and recovered a fumble for the '09 Pats. The 40-year-old defender also made two stops in his final game, a wild-card loss to the Ravens. A Pro Bowler for 12 straight years at one point, Seau retired shortly after that defeat. 

Good trivia here. Tom Brady is not the oldest player to suit up for a Super Bowl. That honor goes to 42-year-old Matt Stover 10 seasons ago. An injury kept Adam Vinatieri out of Super Bowl XLIV. A Brown/Raven from 1990-2008, Stover was a free agent in '09 when the Colts called. Vinatieri underwent knee surgery that October, and Stover kicked the rest of the way. Along the ride, he exacted a revenge measure by helping the Colts stay unbeaten with a game-winning field goal in Baltimore. Stover made 9 of 11 regular-season field goals but did miss a 51-yarder in the Super Bowl, his final game. 

Favre could not quite match Sugar Ray Leonard in retirement volume but came close. His final will-he/won't-he season came in 2010, when select Vikings flew to Mississippi to convince him to return for a 20th season. Jared Allen, Steve Hutchinson and Ryan Longwell coaxed Favre to come back, but the move mattered little. A Pro Bowler after arguably the greatest age-40 season ever, one that ended on Super Bowl XLIV's doorstep, Favre struggled in 2010. He threw 11 TD passes and 19 INTs for a 6-10 team. His iron-man streak also ended, at 297, due to a shoulder injury. Favre finally retired for good at season's end.

Back to kickers. This era has produced unprecedented field goal accuracy and kicker longevity. Kasay also showed, unlike past kickers to venture into Year 20, waning leg strength did not become detrimental to his team. The Panthers kicker was 3-for-4 from beyond 50 yards, including a 55-yarder, in 2010. This season was a disaster for the Panthers, leading to John Fox's firing and Cam Newton's arrival at No. 1 overall, but Kasay hit 86 percent of his field goals (25 of 29) and was the last of the initial Panthers to leave the team. After kicking in Carolina for 16 years, Kasay finished his run with the 2011 Saints.

Further illustrating the evolution of the kicker position, Hanson not only played 21 seasons but also continued to be one of the league's best into his early 40s. At 41 in 2011, the Lions kicker was 24-for-29 and was 5-of-7 from 50-plus yards. The 2011 season proved key for the Lions, who returned to the playoffs after a decade-long futility bout. Hanson kicked an overtime game-winner against the Vikings during the season. He retired after the 2012 campaign, becoming one of only two players — joining Lou Groza — to play 21 seasons with one franchise. 

We come to the greatest kicker to lace them up. If Kasay and Hanson showed leg strength was no longer a big concern past 40, Vinatieri is expanding the boundaries for this job. He reached Year 20 four seasons ago and made 92 percent of his field goals (25 of 27). He also connected on 4 of 5 tries from beyond 50. Vinatieri holds the Nos. 1 and 4 accuracy marks for post-age-40 kickers, with 2015 representing No. 4. He hit two game-winners that season, and his 55-yard make ended the eventual Super Bowl champion Broncos' unbeaten run. Going into his 24th season, the four-time Super Bowl champ is the NFL's leading scorer.

Dawson called it quits over the summer. While he would not be the first kicker to come out of retirement, as of now his 20th season was his last. The former Browns, 49ers and Cardinals kicker joined John Kasay in keeping an expansion team from worrying about its kicking duties for over a decade. But after his 14-year Cleveland run and three San Francisco seasons, Dawson ended his career with 26 games with Arizona. He played in only 10 games last season and attempted just eight field goals, making five. A hip injury sidelined Dawson midway through a 3-13 Cards season.