Sturm":opsbgtl0 said:
He'll be 33 next year and who knows how effective he'll be...and if he'll even be ready by the time the season starts.
Crap I never thought about that. He is aging. Mid 30's is well past a Defensive End's prime. However, Clemons has not slowed much at all. He was the team's sack leader at 32 years of age. Lets just hope this injury doesn't slow him down and that his age allows him two more quality seasons.
Clemons is not as beat up as Patrick Kerney was. So I think Clem could play to about 35. Maybe 36, depending on how well he takes care of his body when he's off the field. Either way, you can't expect the guy to perform like a 25-29 year old [the average male's physical prime]. Three or four years past your physical prime may not seem like much, but it is when you're a starting DE in the NFL. Clemons has been playing in the NFL for a decade now (going on his 11th season I believe). If we get two more 10+ sack seasons out of him, i'll be happy. By then we should have a good replacement.
Red Bryant is 29 (turns 29 in April). So he's at the end of his prime. Looks like we have to find two solid DE's pretty soon. On top of a pass rushing DT. Brandon Mebane and Alan Branch are both 28 years old. Not old, but not young either. I didn't realize how old our defensive line was until I actually looked up their ages.