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Reggie Bush, A.J. Hawk releases reminder that the NFL is ‘a young man’s league’

By Daniel

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It’s tough for veterans that reach the age 30 in the NFL. Some have already been released and many more will be in the coming days.

The 2015 NFL Draft is still two months away, but free agency begins in under two weeks. In preparation of free agency, and the draft, many NFL teams are beginning to groom their rosters. February is an annual reminder of how the NFL truly is a young man’s game.

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The age that separates the young from the old in the NFL is 30 years old. Justified or not, NFL general managers and coaches routinely value potential over proven production. Thus, the NFL free agency period and draft offer a chance to replace ‘aging’ players with rookies or free agents seeking their second contract.

It doesn’t matter if a player helped win a Super Bowl or was a Pro Bowl invitee, the NFL is all about winning now. A lot of personnel decisions come down to making the best financial decision for the future of the organization. The salary cap has evened out the talent distribution of the NFL and often times players that have been stars for years get shown the door because they simply cost too much. Their current play is valued less than the potential of rookies; plus, rookies are, generally, paid a lot less than veterans. Although unfortunate, this practice makes sense.

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Replacing players that are around 30 years old with rookies accomplishes two things. It saves the organization money and makes the team younger — it’s a young man’s league remember?

The Veteran Casualties Are Mounting

There have already been a few marquee casualties of this yearly trend. On Wednesday the Green Bay Packers released inside linebacker A.J. Hawk, the Baltimore Ravens released wide receiver Jacoby Jones, and the Detroit Lions did the same thing with running back Reggie Bush.

Lets take a look at these players’ ages. Hawk is 31 years old, Jones is 30, and Bush is 29. As you can see approaching 30 years old can mean disaster for NFL players. This fate doesn’t apply to quarterbacks though, the age that quarterbacks begin to experience this treatment is continually rising. It’s probably hovering around 38 years old at the moment.

The players that have already been released weren’t just your run of the mill football players either. All of them possess relatively impressive resumes.

Hawk was the starting middle linebacker for the Packers when they won Super Bowl XLV. He is also the all-time leading tackler in Green Bay history (921). He was a trusted leader of the Packers’ defense, although he never quite lived up to his hype after being drafted 5th overall in 2006 out of Ohio State.

Even though he never became the superstar that many projected him to be, he was always in position and will be remembered as a great character guy and a valuable locker room presence. Yet, he’s gone because the Packers will look to get younger at the position. I can’t say this move is much of a surprise to anyone.

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Jones has been one of the NFL’s top return men over the last few seasons and was named to the Pro Bowl in 2012. He’s ran back four punts and five kickoff returns in his career (four kickoffs returned for touchdowns in the last three seasons alone). Jones has also caught 14 touchdowns in his career.

He is best remembered for his performance in Super Bowl XLVII in which he returned a kickoff 108 yards for a touchdown and hauled in a 56 yard touchdown reception. However, Baltimore will look to replace his production with younger, cheaper, talent.

Bush accounted for 1512 total yards just two years ago for the Detroit Lions. He was a part of the Super Bowl XLIV champion New Orleans Saints and has scored 54 combined touchdowns in his career, but that isn’t enough to justify his contract.

His production dipped last year, at age 29, as he battled injuries and because of that he is out. I’ll say it again, it’s a young man’s league and Bush no longer has youth, in NFL standards, on his side.

Even so, each of these players, and many of the other veterans that will be cut, will be able to find new teams in the coming weeks, albeit for less money.

Some other marquee veterans that are at risk of being cut because of their age and their hit on the salary cap include Vikings’ wide receiver Greg Jennings, Eagles’ outside linebacker Trent Cole, Saints’ wide receiver Marques Colston, St. Louis Rams’ tackle Jake Long, and many, many more.

Atlanta Falcons’ running back Steven Jackson has just been released as well. He’s ran for 1000 yards eight times in his career, but that’s not enough to keep the 31 year old on the roster today.

As free agency gets even closer many veterans will hit the market as teams make room for their salary cap. Other teams will release aging, and expensive, veterans while putting their hope in finding their replacements in the 2015 NFL Draft.

This is the nature of the NFL. There is no loyalty to aging players and sentiments don’t mean a thing to NFL organizations that want to continue win or begin winning. It’s a tough pill so swallow as many popular players are given the axe to make way for new players, but that’s the way it has been and how it will always be.

Who will be the next big name veteran to be cut as teams prep for free agency and the draft?

Next: 2015 NFL Draft Mock Draft: All 32 First Round Selections

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