Warren Moon believes Tom Brady can play into his forties

Count Pro Football Hall of Famer, Warren Moon, among the ones who believes Tom Brady will play well into his forties. If anyone has the credibility to talk about the subject it’s Moon, who played the quarterback position until he was 44.

While attending the the Boston Red Sox and Houston Astros game, Moon spoke with WEEI in Boston about Brady’s aspirations to do the same.

“I really do,” said Moon. “I think the big thing is taking care of yourself, and he does that as well as anybody. We all know about his diet. We know about how he trains in the offseason. The way he takes care of his arm. And if you can stay away from any major injuries. That’s the key for guys as they get older.”

“When you get a little bit older and you get an injury it doesn’t heal as fast as it did when you’re back in your late 20’s or early 30’s. Staying away from any major injuries or nagging injuries, I think that is going to allow him to play. Because of the type of offense, he’s in he doesn’t take a lot of punishment because the ball is gone, so he doesn’t have to sit back and take a lot of pounding. I think a lot of it is how he takes care of himself, staying away from injury and how motivated he is to keep playing.”

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Moon admitted he was surprised he played as long as he did and once he reached his forties, it became harder and harder to manage his body.

“I was a little amazed I was still playing when I was 40,” Moon said. “I just took it a year at a time at that time and didn’t put a ceiling on it. I didn’t put any type of floor on it, either. I just felt like I would play every year and see how I feel at the end of the season, and see if I want to train in the offseason because that’s really where you put the work in to play the game. As you get older you have to train a little harder to get yourself back in shape.”

Moon played 17 seasons in the NFL with Houston Oilers, Minnesota Vikings, Seattle Seahawks, and Kansas City Chiefs. After turning 40, Moon started 33 games until he retired in 2000. However, 24 of the 32 starts came in a two-season stint with the Seahawks at age 41 and 42. He started just one more game his final two seasons.

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Although great in his own right, Moon was never Brady. Moon started 16 games in a season only four times and reached double-digit wins twice in 17 seasons. Brady’s lowest win total was 9. He did that once in 2002.

However, like Brady, Moon enjoyed a lot of success in his final three years of his thirties. In his aged 37-39 season, Moon started 45 out of a possible 48 games over that three-season stretch. He tied a career high with 33 touchdowns at age 39.

Brady has remained remarkably healthy over his career and in today’s game, the shelf life of a quarterback seems to be getting larger. Despite their different career arc’s, Moon is the benchmark for quarterbacks playing into their forties. Brady is on pace to snatch that honor from him.

– Ian Glendon is the Managing Editor for cover32/Patriots and covers the NFL and New England Patriots. Like and follow on Follow @iglen31 Follow @cover32_NE and Facebook.

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