The 30 best current NFL players in their 30s

A former star in the CFL, Wake joined the Dolphins in 2009 and has been one of the league's top sack artists since then. He's made five Pro Bowls during his career and finished his age 35 season in 2017 with 10.5 sacks.

Bennett has made three consecutive Pro Bowls as he joins the Super Bowl champion Eagles in 2018. Turning 32 last season, he had 8.5 sacks and 40 tackles in Seattle and is widely known as one of the best all-around defensive linemen in the game.

Jones has ascended to becoming one of the league's elite safeties. Going on age 30, Jones rebounded from an injury-plagued 2016 season to make his second Pro Bowl in 2017. He finished the year with 122 tackles, two interceptions and two fumble returns for scores. Jones turned 30 in February.

Suh is arguably the most feared player in the NFL and has made five Pro Bowls in his eight NFL seasons. He joined the Rams in the offseason after finishing last year, his age 30 season, with 4.5 sacks and 48 tackles.

One of the elite cover corners in the NFL, Talib had made five consecutive Pro Bowls. He joins the Rams in 2018 hoping to continue that streak opposite Marcus Peters in his age 32 season.

Kerrigan has been one of the most consistent pass rushers in the NFL since being drafted in 2011. He's made three Pro Bowls, including two in a row, and finished last season with 13 sacks. Kerrigan will turn 30 in mid-August.

Jenkins made his second Pro Bowl in three seasons with the Eagles in 2017 at age 30. A feared hard hitter, he had 69 tackles and two picks during the regular season.

Thomas' failed to reach 1,000 yards receiving last year for the first time since 2011 but remained Denver's top wideout at age 30. He's hoping to get a boost with new starting quarterback Case Keenum and still managed 83 receptions for 949 yards and five scores last year.

Staley isn't playing quite as well as he did a few years ago, but the longtime 49ers left tackle did just make his sixth Pro Bowl at age 33. A great athlete, he goes into 2018 protecting Jimmy Garoppolo's blindside.

Mack has consistently been one of the league's best centers, making the Pro Bowl five times in nine NFL seasons. He's been a Pro Bowler in each of the last three seasons. Mack will turn 33 in November.

Weddle is known as a takeaway machine from his time with the Chargers and Ravens. Now age 33, the free safety has 29 career interceptions, including six last season. He's made the Pro Bowl five times, including the last two years.

A longtime anchor of the Cincinnati defense, Atkins has made the Pro Bowl six times in his eight-year career. He's accumulated 29 sacks over the last three seasons, including nine sacks in 2017. Atkins enters his age 30 season in 2018.

Manning likely will eventually make a speech in Canton, Ohio, after winning two Super Bowls, but his play has regressed over the last two seasons. Granted, the Giants haven't put much talent around him, particularly on the offensive line, but they've addressed those issues this offseason. Manning is looking to rebound from a season in which his team went 3-12 during his 15 starts, and he threw for only 3,468 yards and 19 touchdowns.

It's been an up and down last few years for Dalton and the Bengals. He completed less than 60 percent of his passes for only 3,320 yards last season, but the three-time Pro Bowler has solidified his status as a mid-tier NFL starter. He turns 31 in October.

Now a cult hero in Philadelphia after the Eagles won the Super Bowl, Kelce was an All-Pro in 2017. The center is the older brother of Chiefs Pro Bowl tight end Travis Kelce and turns 31 in November.

A bit of a late bloomer, Whitworth has become one of the league's elite offensive linemen in recent years. He's made the Pro Bowl in three straight years and been named an All-Pro in two of those years between the Bengals and Rams. He's one of the league's oldest players, turning 37 in December.

The Vikings hope Cousins is the final piece of the puzzle as they try to win a Super Bowl in 2018. The soon-to-be 30-year-old former Washington quarterback has passed for more than 4,000 yards in three consecutive seasons and had four game-winning drives in 2017.

Turning 30 at the end of July, Green has remarkably made the Pro Bowl in all seven of his NFL seasons. The wideout finished with more than 1,000 yards receiving for the sixth time last year and has 57 career receiving touchdowns.

If quarterbacks are ultimately judged by wins, Smith has been nothing short of outstanding since 2011. Over that time, he's 69-31-1 as a starter during the regular season for the 49ers and Chiefs. Known as a game manager, Smith threw for a career-high 4,042 yards and 26 touchdowns last season at age 33 before getting traded to Washington. He hopes to find continued success while replacing Kirk Cousins.

McCoy had more than 1,100 yards from scrimmage for the eighth consecutive season in 2017 and also made his sixth Pro Bowl in seven years. The centerpiece of the Buffalo offense, McCoy is coming off a very strong year in which he finished with 1,586 yards from scrimmage and eight touchdowns. He turned 30 in July.

There seems to be no stopping Fitzgerald, even as he enters his age 35 season. The Cardinals wideout made his 11th Pro Bowl last year, finishing with 109 receptions for 1,156 yards and six touchdowns. Even more impressive was that he accumulated those stats with the Cardinals employing backup quarterbacks for much of the year.

Ryan won NFL MVP in 2016 after throwing for 4,944 yards and 38 touchdowns. His performance regressed last season with a new offensive coordinator, but the four-time Pro Bowler remains one of the league's top quarterbacks, throwing for 4,095 yards in 2017 at age 32.

Griffen is the anchor of one of the league's elite defenses, making three consecutive Pro Bowls and finishing 2017 with a career-high 13 sacks. Turning 31 in December, Griffen and the Vikings have Super Bowl aspirations after falling in the NFC Championship Game last season.

Rivers moved with the Chargers in the exodus from San Diego to L.A. and helped them improve by four wins last year. A seven-time Pro Bowler and likely future Hall of Famer, Rivers threw for more than 4,500 yards last season and cut his interceptions from 21 in 2016 to only 10 last season. He's now thrown for more than 50,000 yards in his career, ninth most all time.

The first overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, Stafford enters his age 30 season having made huge strides over the last three years under offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter. During that time, he's completed at least 65 percent of his passes in each season and has 12 game-winning drives over the last two seasons.

Almost certainly a future Hall of Famer as he heads into his 15th season, Big Ben has made four consecutive Pro Bowls and six during his career. The Steelers are an amazing 135-63 in his starts, and Roethlisberger still has a shot to add to his pair of Lombardi Trophies this season at age 36.

Brees has earned numerous accolades as he approaches his age 39 season with New Orleans. He's made a whopping 11 Pro Bowls and won AP Offensive Player of the Year twice. While his passing stats declined last season in a more balanced Saints offense, he still led the NFL by completing 72 percent of his passes. Brees has led the league in passing seven times during his career, including three straight times from 2014-16.

Campbell signed a huge contract with Jacksonville last offseason, and it looked like money well spent after his first season with the Jags. An All-Pro at age 31, Campbell finished with 67 tackles and a career-high 14.5 sacks for the stellar Jaguars defense.

Arguably the best wide receiver in the game, Brown has been an All-Pro in four consecutive seasons and Pro Bowler in six of the last seven years. He led the league with 1,533 yards receiving in 2017 and did so in only 14 games. He enters his age 30 season in 2018.

Rodgers played only seven games in 2017 due to a broken collarbone, and it's not a coincidence that the Packers failed to make the playoffs. The six-time Pro Bowler still played well when he was on the field, with 1,675 yards passing and 16 touchdowns after throwing 40 touchdowns in 2016. He hopes to get the Packers back to the playoffs in an NFC North division that looks very difficult, led by defending division champs in Minnesota.