Though it doesn’t always correlate with success or failure, the data points suggest the Pittsburgh Steelers will have one of the NFL’s oldest rosters when Week One kicks off. As he does every year, Philly Voice’s Jimmy Kempski combs through 53-man rosters to determine the average age for each team and how they stack up to the rest of the league.
In the 2023 edition published Tuesday after cutdowns, the Pittsburgh Steelers come in as the seventh-oldest team with an average age of 26.3 years old. The only teams who are older are the New England Patriots (26.4), Carolina Panthers (26.5), Las Vegas Raiders (26.6), Houston Texans (26.7), New York Jets (27.0), and the oldest team in the league, the New Orleans Saints (27.4).
Relatively speaking, the Steelers are an older group than they were a year ago. Based on his 2022 results, the Steelers had an average age of 25.9. In fact, the 2023 version is the oldest Steelers team since Kempski began tracking things in 2018. Here’s how they stack up year-to-year.
2018 – 25.9 years old (16th youngest in NFL)
2019 – 25.7 years old (14th youngest in NFL)
2020 – 26.0 years old (17th youngest in NFL)
2021 – 25.6 years old (11th youngest in NFL)
2022 – 25.9 years old (17th youngest in NFL)
And it should be noted that with 28-year-old CB Desmond King replacing 25-year-old P Braden Mann, the Steelers’ roster just got a tiny bit older.
The 2023 data is their biggest jump in NFL roster age. For the past five years, they essentially sat around league average. This year, they’re closer to the bottom/oldest in the league. Cam Heyward, 34, is the oldest player on the Steelers’ roster and their free agency additions boosted the team’s age. Though Kevin Colbert almost never signed a defensive free agent who was in his 30s, Omar Khan added two in CB Patrick Peterson (33), and OLB Markus Golden (32) while signing WR Allen Robinson II (30) on the other side of the ball.
As Kempski makes sure to point out, there is no direct correlation between youth or the wisdom of an older roster and seasonal success. Last year, Cleveland had the youngest roster, Tampa Bay had the oldest roster, and Indianapolis was in the middle. The Browns and Colts missed the playoffs while the Buccaneers went 8-9, won a dreadful AFC South, and got sent home by the Cowboys in the NFC Wild Card round.
Despite a clear correlation, it’s an interesting data point. In some ways, it’s better for this Steelers team to be older. Though Kempski doesn’t break things down by offensive and defensive age, Pittsburgh had the youngest offense in football a year ago. It’s doubtful they’re still in that camp. And the experience they gained in 2022, battling growing pains they’ve fought through, will make them better equipped to handle whatever 2023 throws their way.
