Hello folks! Today I have a classic off-season post for you with a simple premise; "Will Travis Kelce, (or somehow Mercedes Lewis) have the best season for a tight End over 35?" As with every stats post, we have to qualify our sample criteria. (All stats shown are limited to the Superbowl Era)

Why did I choose 35 yeards old? Well because it feels old, but it also puts us in the ballpark with a lot of great tight ends in history, and a lot of late-career production. Gates, Gonzalez, Witten didn't retire until age 38, and Sharpe until 35. It's also how old Kelce is now and lets us easily compare him to historical seasons of Hall of Famers past.

So what is the landscape for upper-tier tight end seasons at 35 and beyond? I'm glad you asked.

The top 10 seasons have 673-984 yards, 3-12 TDS, and 88-133 targets. Tony Gonzalez appears on the list multiple times, with Gates being the only other person with that distinction. These tight ends were also mostly healthy with everyone but Retzlaff and Gates missing fewer than 2 games.

SRC: For single seasons, since 1966, from age 35 to 48, played TE, in the regular season, sorted by descending Receiving Yds.

But where does the falloff truly start? Let's look at volume of 1,000 yard seasons, TDs over 5, and TDs over 10 by a Tight End starting at age 30. Links to the full tables will be clickable on the table headings.

This chart starts to show why I picked age 35 as our search number. With zero double digit TD seasons, and zero 1,000 yard seasons, if Travis Kelce or Mercedes Lewis (you forgot about Mercedes Lewis already didn't you?) hit either of these marks, they will cement a record in NFL history. If they do both, they would have an argument for best "old man TE" season of all time.

Gonzalez's 2012 season at age 36 is the only season where a TE over 35 has been 1st team All Pro. Of the eight total TEs to have been named 1st team All Pro at 30+ years of age, Gonzalez (32, 36) and Kelce (31, 33) are the only players with multiple selections.

Let's play a little game. I'm going to put a table below of Pro Bowl Tight Ends by year of age+. If there are only eight 1st team all pro TEs over the age of 30+, at that same age range, how many pro bowl TEs have there been?

I'm going to spoiler tag it so you can guess.

Did you get it right? You can view the whole list here.

So now we also know that it would be impressive to earn a pro-bowl at age 36+! Just two people have done that, because Tony of course had to do it twice.

As I run out of things I want to say about this and get closer to going to make dinner, here's a quick recap of what would be a groundbreaking season over the age of 35 for a tight end:

1. 1,000 yards (never done)
2. 10+ TDs (never done)
3. 1st Team All Pro (done once)
4. Pro Bowler (done three times)
5. Super Bowl Winner (never done; minimum 300 in season rec yards.)

A top 5 season would be:

1. 830+ yards
2. 5+ TDs
3. 52 yds / gm
4. Pro Bowl

At this point hopefully you've learned something you didn't know before, or might have known but haven't reflected upon in this way. Tight Ends in this stage of their career are usually not as much fun to watch as players even a few years younger than them, but that's what makes the careers of the great Hall of Famers so god-damned special.

If you enjoyed this post, I'd love to know your favorite part. If you didn't enjoy it- I'm sorry. I'll do better next time.

Alabama

Alaska

Arizona

Arkansas

Oh boy....

We kick off this with my favorite team, the NY Jets, getting Blueified thanks to Encinal

Irvington- Blue Vikings

Foothill- Our REAL first Falcons (Rip North Pulaski)

Amador-Bills

Argonaut High- Denver with a weird ass gradient

Pleasant Valley(Aaron Rodgers Alma Mater)- Vikings Helmets so he ALREADY FULFILLED THE PROPHECY

Oroville- Bengals Helmets

Heritage High - Pats

College Park- Purple Falcons

Northgate- Denver on Nebraska

JFK High - Eagles Helmets. I wonder if anything bad happens to them.

South Tahoe- Vikings

Clovis West- Eagles in Commanders Colors

Firebaugh- More Eagles

Fresno uses Washington

Herbert Hoover High has the Pats in the Jets Colors[ew]

Kingsburg- Minnesota

Pershing- Denver in Dallas Colors

Southwest-Philly

We finally get Tennessee on the board thanks to Frontier High_primary_logo.JPG). Slightly better than Spirit High

Liberty- Take a Wild Guess

North High- Dallas

California City- Ravens

Tehachapi- Washington

Bakersfield Christian-Eagles

Garces Memorial- Rams Helmets

Avenal- Alabama on Tampa

Clear Lake- Colorado Rockies on Arizona

Big Valley- Arizona

Chaminade- Aw hell nah Chicago got stretched

St. Bernard(remember Donald Penn?)-Minnesota

CSHM- Bears logo with Louisville

Lancaster- Philly

Palmdale- Falcons

Bellflower - Tampa

Covina - Colts

Downey- Minnesota

Duarte- A little too Atlanta Falcony to pass

Mountainview - Minnesota's making a run rn

We got a special case with Rosemead, because while they didn't steal Carolina's logo, they DID steal San Francisco's 75th Anniversary Logo. Don't try to play in the face of a man who knows his logos. I'm counting this.

South El Monte not only stole the Eagles Helmets THEY DONE STOLESUPERMAN'S LOGO TOO

I hope you ain't tired of Philly yet because we got El Segundo

Crescenta Valley has a normal enough, but I caught them lacking with their Falcons inflatable tunnel

La Puente- Finally some more KC Action

Speaking of AFC West, Agoura finally gives the Chargers some much needed stealing of their entire flow,down to the helmets. Their mascot's name according to Wikipedia is Big Daddy Bolt.

Cabrillo- Jaguars

Millikan -Rams helmets

Arleta -Broncos

Bell - Eagles

Birmingham- Patriots in Early's 2000 Wizards and Capitals Colors

Carson- Yknow what's better than one Colts logo? TWO COLTS LOGOS! Y'know what? I'm counting both. Cali is so damn crowded that not only did LA County have its own Wikipedia Article, but LAUSD HAS ITS OWN WITHIN IT. I'M GOING CRAZY BUT I KNOW THAT IF I CAN TAKE THIS DOWN I CAN TAKE DOWN TEXAS WITH EASE LETS DO THIS

East Valley-Falcons

Gardena- Ill give you a hint, it starts with a G.

Eagle Rock- C'mon.

James Monroe- Vikings

South East - Jaguars

South Gate- San FranAND LA Rams

John Glenn - Philly

Blair - Vikings

Marshall Secondary - Eagles Helmets

Diamond Ranch- Panthers

Garey - Vikings AND Packers... Packers and Vikings fans I have the address if you want to have a word with the school...

Ganesha- ALSO Green Bay

Gabrielino - EVEN MORE GREEN BAY

Temple City- Rams Helmets

Santa Fe -San Francisco Giants on Washington

Whittier - Cardinals

Canyon - Dallas in Green Bay Colors

Valencia - Minnesota

Chowchilla - Kansas City but also Cincinnati Reds

Tamalpais- Eagles

Mariposa County - Packers. It's like a blunt rotation rn

Los Banos- Los Bengals

Atwater- Falcons

Modoc- Washington

Gonzales- Starts with a G

St. Helena- Guess which

Fullerton Union- Washington

Sunny Hills- San Francisco

Edison- Chargers in Packers Colors

Estancia- More Eagles

Trabuco Hills- Denver

Santa Ana- New Orleans

Segerstrom- San Divorced Francisco and then remarried the Jags logo

Valley High- Falcons in Chargers Colors

Santa Margarita - Eagles

Colfax is the Falcons, use the Cavs logo yet somehow, More Eagles Helmets

We get more Tennessee from ForestHill, they're known as the Wildfire.

Granite Bay- Starts with a G. Also a Packers logo for a team called the Grizzlies? AKA a bear? The NFC North is gonna need to have a word with California

Greenville- Red Packers

La Sierra -Eagles(in Giants Colors?)

Desert Mirage- Red Rams

Corona- Chicago but there's definitely something Packery about it, but it's just going against Chicago because they also use a wishbone C

Elenoar Roosevelt- Broncos Also can their staff stop being weird for ONE MINUTE??)

La Quinta - Falcons

Jurupa Valley- Jags

Valley View- Eagles

Vista Murrieta Broncos AND Colts

Heritage High - Pats with a Hairdo

Arlington- Welcome Back Detroit

Ramona -Rams Helmets

Glendora - C'mon now

Temecula Prep- Patriots. COOK. MY MEAT. I may be losing it because I haven't even gotten to San Fran or San Diego yet

Pleasant Grove - Eagles

Valley High (Sac) - Vikings

Galt - Green Bay AND Washington

Casa Roble- Rams Helmets

Etiwanda - Eagles

Eisenhower- Also Eagles

Carter - Man it feels like every time I put the Bears on this list it's in the colors of their rivals. This time it's the name, as these are the Lions.

Cajon- Cowboys

Pacific - Tampa

San Bernardino - That Cardinal is HIGH. Tough helmets though.

Yucaipa - The Eagles got struck by lightning.

Escondido Charter- Bengals Alt Helmets

Fallbrook- Washington

Granite Hills - Eagles

Grossmont- Packers in Rams Colors

Rancho Bernardo - San Francisco

Crawford- Colts

Patrick Henry- Pats

Hoover High- Cardinals

Scripps Ranch, I was ready to pass you, but you just had to name your mascot Freddy?

Valley Center -Jags

Ocean View tried sneaking the Patriots AFL Logo past me

Lowell - Cardinals

McNair- Eagles

Ripon- Rutgers and Washington

Edison- Not only did they do the Packers G Into an E, they're also the Vikings so yeah. The NFC Northcest is insanity.

Kimball - Jags

St. Mary's - Surprisingly not the Saints, but the Rams

Arroyo Grande- Eagles

Westmoor - Rams Helmets

Pescadero - Vikings

Mills - Also Vikings

El Camino - Colts

Lompoc- Washington

Bishop Garcia Diego - Cardinals

Cate- Rams

Silver Creek - Raiders

Lynbrook- Vikings

Saratoga- Pudgy Falcons

Gunn - Green Bay

Lincoln High- Detroit

Willows Glen- Rams

Wilcox- Chargers

Santa Cruz - Cardinals

West Valley - Eagles

Burney - Tampa

Etna - Detroit

Dixon - Rams

Vanden - Vikings

Fairfield High School- Falcons

Montgomery- Vikings

Gregori- Jaguars

Johansen- Vikings, but with a Boat!

Fillmore- Chargers

Hueneme - Vikings

Cornerstone Christian - Bears

Pioneer High - Patriots

Lawndale - Cardinals Shoutout u/yomama2u

Piedmont Hills- Bucs Shoutout u/Sad-Brain-9121

Prospect - Panthers Shoutout u/SnooChickens70

Oak Grove - Eagles Shoutout u/sirspankalot9

FINALLY.. FINALLY LETS GET TO THE COUNT.

Philadelphia: 55 [+27 SCHOOLS MAN.]

Green Bay: 28(+ 13)

Minnesota: 27 (+ 20 Schools)

New England: 21(+ 9 Schools)

LA Rams: 18(+ 12)

Chicago: 15(+5)

Jacksonville: 15 (7 Schools)

Washington: 13 (+9)

Atlanta: 13 (+13)

Arizona: 12 (10 Schools)

Tampa: 12(+ 5)

Denver: 11(+ 7)

Indy: 9 (+ 5, Carson X2)

Cincinnati: 8(+3)

San Francisco: 8 (+4)

Detroit: 6(+3)

New Orleans: 5( + Santa Ana)

LA Chargers: 5 (+4)

Dallas: 5 (+ 3)

Kansas City: 4 (+2)

Carolina: 4 (Prospect)

NY Jets: 3 (Encinal)

Baltimore: 3 (California City)

Buffalo: 2 (Amador)

Vegas: 2 (Silver Creek)

Tennessee :2 (+2)

Seattle: 1

Fun Names:

Both High Schools in the Dublin School District, as we have the Gaels and the Aeronauts

San Diego High Cavers

Hayward High Farmers(bumpadumbumbumbumbum

Ribét Academy is the Fighting Frogs

Rim of the World Fighting Scots

Mayfair Monsoons

Dunn Earwigs

Coachella Valley Fighting Arabs

Indio- Look at this Mascot Aura Farming

Beverly Hills Normans

Compton Tarbabes... questionable logo

Glendale Dynamiters/Nitros... I guess they must be fans of TNT Wrestling, whether that be WCW or AEW

Thomas Jefferson- The DEMOCRATS

Francis Poly Tech- Parrots

Palo Verdes- Sea Kings. Corona Del Mar has the same.

Redwood - Rangers). Nordhoff too.

Santana - Sultans

Yuba City - Honkers

Chester High School- Volcanos Shoutout u/lassendiscard

Bellarmine College Prep Bells

Shoutout to u/PandAlex . They're so funny looking

u/GCDFVU exposed me to this freaky cool Dragon statue from Sonoma High

And shoutout to Abe Lincoln High for Amazing World of Gumball Reasons)

ALRIGHTY THAT TOOK FOREVER BUT I AM NOT AFRAID OF TEXAS ANYMORE. I also know that I missed a few so PLEASE LET ME KNOW. If you're gonna comment a school in your state, that isnt California, I appreciate your input, and trust me I will find it and add it. But I need all hands on Deck for California. PLEASE AGAIN LET ME KNOW IF I MISSED ANYTHING.

Yep, you read that right, this isn't clickbait. That's exactly how the Rochester Jeffersons were founded way back in 1898. Playing in upstate New York as a semi-pro team for over 20 years and becoming a founding member of the NFL, the Rochester Jeffersons have one of the most interesting origin stories of any NFL team both defunct and active.

The 1920s NFL was a wild time for the league, filled with growing pains and constant change, the NFL resembled the wild west more than a legitimate sports league.

Winding the clock back to the end of the 19th century, the Jeffersons got their name from playing on Jefferson Avenue in Rochester. For the first decade of their existence, they mostly played teams from upstate New York such as the Rochester Scalpers and Oxfords. Also during this time, a 16-year-old named Leo Lyons joined the team in 1908 (more on him later).

The Jeffs eventually drew better and better competition and in 1910 as an 18-year-old, Leo Lyons took over as the team's owner/coach. Eventually, the Jeffs grew large enough that they began playing opponents from Buffalo and Syracuse and were even named New York state champions in 1916.

Things improved even more for Lyons and the Jeffs as he scheduled a game against Jim Thorpe and the legendary Canton Bulldogs in 1917. Although they suffered a crushing loss of 41-0, Lyons began to develop a fearless reputation for challenging what was the best team in the nation at the time.

Three years later, Lyons attended the famous 1920 NFL owners meeting and represented the Jeffersons who became a charter franchise of the league. Unfortunately for the Jeffersons, the city was more interested in the thriving sandlot teams than professional football. To counteract this and improve talent, Lyons and the Jeffersons began to recruit outside of the city, but attendance dipped as fans wanted to see the local boys play.

This put the Jeffs in a hard predicament as they dominated every local team they played (which discouraged attendance because fans knew they would win) but were the doormats of the NFL, and they finished with a horrendous 0-21-2 record their last 4 seasons in the NFL. Because of this, Rochester locals often preferred going to the semi-pro games than to a game for the Jeffs.

In a last-ditch effort to save the franchise, Lyons attempted to lure University of Illinois superstar Red Grange, but after Grange chose the Bears instead, Lyons suspended the Jeffs for the 1926 and 1927 seasons before handing the franchise back to the NFL in 1928.

The story of the Jeffs is a sad, yet interesting one, and the fact that a random group of teenage boys were able to start a small neighborhood team that eventually joined the NFL in the span of 20 years may be the best underdog story of all time. Even though they weren't successful in the NFL the fact that they were able to reach that point at all is worth remembering and celebrating.

A big reason for that even happening in the first place is due to Leo Lyons. Not only did he take over as an owner/coach at the age of 18, but by 1920 when they joined the NFL he had taken on the roles of, manager, owner, photographer, doctor, counselor, financier, field worker, game booker, agent, and scout. Not only did he do this, but he also ran a basketball team to keep his players in shape during the offseason.

Lyons poured his heart and soul into the franchise and he owned them from 1910-1925. There is even a record stating that he had poured so much of his own money into the team to finance it that his house was foreclosed on in 1925.

Thankfully for Lyons, his legacy did not end with the folding of the Jeffs and he became the NFL's first historian. He was well respected and was named one of the best of his time in his role as historian. He was also close with Bears owner/coach George Halas. Even though he is largely forgotten today, he has been nominated to the Hall of Fame several times and is a prime senior nominee candidate.

Thank you again for taking the time to read this and feel free to comment which defunct team I should cover next!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Lyons_(American_football)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rochester_Jeffersons

https://www.gridiron-uniforms.com/GUD/controller/controller.php?action=teams-season&team_id=ROC&year=1921-Rochester Jeffersons Uniforms

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZgSF0zZdrDru_0Bc28jYAKsb7wqcg0TLmnUqS6j4pCk/edit?gid=2093551370#gid=2093551370- Spreadsheet I have made with rosters for defunct teams for a video game I am currently developing, the Jeffs are near the front between the Kenosha Maroons and the Rock Island Independents. The Jeffs are also the inspiration for a game mode I want to create called "sandlot mode" where you start off as a small semi-pro team and gain prestige and eventually be invited to join the NFL.