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The expectations for most players when they reach, or inch closer to, the infamous 30-year-old threshold are that they will begin to lose a step or two and not be as explosive as they were when they first entered the league.
History suggests that the notion is true more often than not, but there are occasional exceptions. One of the most notable prime examples that comes to mind and continues to defy Father Time is Baltimore Ravens five-time running back Derrick Henry, who ran for the second-most rushing yards in his career at 30 in 2024 and recorded his fifth career season of 1,500-plus at 31 last year.
The future Hall of Famer has shown no signs of slowing down, with an ability to still generate explosive runs with game-breaking speed. According to All Pro safety Kyle Hamilton, another player who not only hasn’t lost a step but has seemingly gained another one or two despite being older is franchise quarterback Lamar Jackson.
“He might have gotten faster somehow,” Hamilton said. “I don’t want to age him, but he’s turning a certain age next year. It doesn’t seem like that.”
The two perennial Pro Bowlers have been teammates for going on five years and have gone against each other in practice day in and day out during that time, so Hamilton has a better gauge than the vast majority of opposing defenders when it comes to knowing how explosive Jackson can be and apparently still is at 29 years old.
“I feel like he ran today really fast,” Hamilton said after the first on-field practice of training camp. “I do not know if you guys saw that, but maybe that is just how he always runs. Just like our season, I feel like he’s going to get better throughout the whole year. The more comfortable he gets in what [the offense] has got going on, which I have a ton of faith in, and talking to those guys they have a ton of faith in, I feel like he’s just going to get that much better.”
In a recent appearance on ‘The Lounge’ podcast, Jackson talked about how he benefited from adding boxing to his offseason training regimen and that he wished he had started it even sooner.
“Just cardio. That’s what I did it for,” Jackson said. “That’s a good workout. … It works almost every part of your muscles.”
Taking up the martial art might’ve very well been just what the doctor ordered for the two-time league MVP to stave off the type of gradual and sometimes rapid physical regression that especially plagues skill position players as they approach nearly a decade in the league, most of which was a full-time starter.
Last season he missed four games with a litany of injuries and was noticeably hampered and limited in many of the games he did appear in, so being able to engage and build up his whole or at least most of his body with nontraditional training methods could pay major dividends in 2026.
One of the all-time great players that the ninth-year veteran is too athletic to model his game after but is a great admirer of anyway is future Hall of Fame signal-caller Tom Brady. The seven-time Super Bowl champion played well into his 40’s before retiring for good at 45 and did so at an elite level thanks in large part to his mastery of the mental side of the game.
Even after spending eight years in the league, amassing115 starts under his belt and producing three MVP-caliber seasons that resulted in First Team All Pro selections and reaching record-breaking milestones as the greatest dual-threat quarterback to ever play the game with the highest passer-rating of all-time, Jackson still feels like his best is yet to come.
“Absolutely,” Jackson said when questioned if his best football is ahead of him. “Because each and every year you’re getting older, your mind is getting sharper. Everything is slowing down even more. It’s like you’ve seen everything – anything a defense can bring at you.
“The only thing different now is just the new offense. Once I get that down pat, I feel like there’s no room for error with us. Keep stacking.”
Both of Jackson’s MVP-winning seasons coincided with the first year of a new offense and play-caller. The first was with Greg Roman in 2019, when he was voted to the award unanimously, and the second came in 2023 with Todd Monken, when he was one vote away from being a unanimous selection again.
The literal new kid on the block, or rather at the helm, of the Ravens offense heading into the 2026 season is first-year offensive coordinator Declan Doyle, who has received nothing but rave reviews from his players and fellow coaches on staff since being hired.
Although the Ravens have yet to put pads on in training camp through two days, the early returns of how Jackson looks operating in the new offense from a defender’s point of view are overwhelmingly positive.
“The under center feels very natural, from my perspective for him,” Hamilton said. “Play fakes, running out of every handoff like he has the ball, just little stuff like that he’s being very intentional about.”
Jackson has been one of the most effusive in his praise and excitement about teaming up with Doyle, going as far as to call him an offensive “wizard” despite this being his first time actually calling plays. His first stint as an offensive coordinator came with the Chicago Bears last year, but head coach Ben Johnson was the one calling plays.
Now that he’s the captain of his own ship, his crew and first mate, a.k.a Jackson, is confident that he’s steering them in the right direction to be successful once the season starts.
“I feel like he is doing a great job at that [by] challenging us each and every play,” Jackson said. “Even with the huddle, and how the huddle is set up, he challenges us to get to the line of scrimmage fast, execute, break down the defense and process everything fast so that it’s a process of elimination when we get to the line of scrimmage. So, it is great.”
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