When Chris Weinke talked to teams before the 2001 NFL draft, he didn’t receive many direct questions about his age.
But Weinke, a national championship and Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback at Florida State, knew that the numbers 28 and 29 — his playing age when he finished college, and his age when the 2001 NFL season kicked off — were generating as much discussion behind the scenes as his record-setting stats. When the draft began, Weinke waited until the fourth round to hear his name called, after four other quarterbacks had been selected.
“It did play a factor,” Weinke said. “I’m going into my first training camp as a 29-year-old. Take a 20-year-old who played in three straight national championships and won a Heisman. In that same situation, with the same training, that kid who’s 20 has an advantage and probably isn’t a fourth-round pick.”
Quarterback age is a subplot of next…
