Ravens LB Keeps Defying Age

It's rare that an NFL player finds a new gear in his early-mid 30s, but Baltimore Ravens linebacker Kyle Van Noy has done exactly that.

Van Noy, 34, signed with Baltimore in September of 2023 and has been an absolute monster since then, racking up 21.5 sacks in 30 games. The Ravens have used him almost exclusively as a pass rusher whereas his past teams have used him in more of an off-ball role, but with how well he's performed, one can't help but wonder why other teams didn't use his talents before.

However, one also can't help but wonder how long Van Noy can keep up this level of play. As he revealed Thursday, even he had to think long and hard about his future this offseason, though he declined to say if he considered retirement.

"To be honest, it's been an interesting offseason, but I'm here," Van Noy told reporters. "It's good. I'm just grateful to be with my teammates. Honestly, I would love to celebrate with my family. That would be a cool experience with my kids getting to that last game [Super Bowl LX], but obviously I'm not LeBron [James] and Steph Curry, but the end is closer than the beginning, right? I know that. I think everybody knows that, but I can play as long as I want to. That's my mindset.

"I thought about a lot this offseason, and I'm just grateful to continue to play. My body is still good, and I can still play at a high level. I really think I'm one of the best in the league. My stats show it the last two years. I'm Top 10 in a lot of stuff. I still go under the radar, which is fine. I've just got to keep waking people up, and I'm grateful to do it with people that feel the same way, that have the same mindset."

According to head coach John Harbaugh, Van Noy looks as sharp as ever through the first days of training camp.

"He looks good," Harbaugh said. "He's out here making plays again, and I don't know what the 'age thing' is so I can't answer 'defying it' and what that would really mean. You just go by what you see, and guys play until they can't. He's playing great. Some guys can't play anymore. ... All these other narratives, the age narrative, the one-score narrative – it's all nothing. It's all nothing."