Colts Have Second-Most Players Over 30 Years Old of Any NFL Team

A common criticism this offseason of the Indianapolis Colts' free agent class has been that they got a lot older - a fact that can't be disputed but that also shouldn't be a criticism.

Regardless, it is clear that the Colts got older this offseason, but just how many "old" players do they have?  PhillyVoice's Jimmy Kempski put together a list ranking the NFL teams based on how many players 30 years or older each NFL team has, and the Colts are tied for the second-most such players.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Number of 30+ year old players, per NFL team: <a href="http://t.co/LrXyGzkqfM">pic.twitter.com/LrXyGzkqfM</a></p>&mdash; Jimmy Kempski (@JimmyKempski) <a href="https://twitter.com/JimmyKempski/status/585038173056569344">April 6, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Here are the 12 Colts players who are 30 years old or older, with their age in parenthesis: kicker Adam Vinatieri (42), quarterback Matt Hasselbeck (39), safety Mike Adams (34), outside linebacker Robert Mathis (34), wide receiver Andre Johnson (33), outside linebacker Trent Cole (32), guard Todd Herremans (32), kick returner Josh Cribbs (31), running back Frank Gore (31), inside linebacker D'Qwell Jackson (31), offensive tackle Gosder Cherilus (30), and cornerback Greg Toler (30).  Furthermore, offensive lineman Lance Louis, long snapper Matt Overton, offensive lineman Joe Reitz, and outside linebacker Erik Walden will all turn 30 before the regular season starts - meaning that, if they all make the 53-man roster, the Colts could have 16 players at least 30 years old when the 2015 regular season starts.

At the end of the day, age is just a number, and the age of a player doesn't automatically determine how he is going to play.  Of course you'd always like to be getting younger, but with a very young core including Andrew Luck and T.Y. Hilton, adding veterans isn't a bad thing whatsoever - and most of the veterans the Colts have over the age of 30 are still likely to produce in 2015.  The Colts are aggressively pursuing a Super Bowl this season, and adding several of these veterans should help that pursuit.

But, of course, that doesn't change the fact that, at least for 2015, the Colts are likely to have a number of older players.  As it currently stands, the Colts are tied for the second-most players at least 30 years old in the entire NFL.  And because of their age, head coach Chuck Pagano has joked that they'll have "Bingo nights" this season - though he doesn't see the age being a problem.  And as long as several of the players mentioned above can still give the Colts another year or two of good play, then it absolutely won't be.