Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers throws a pass during practice at the NFL football training camp in Latrobe, Pa., Tuesday, July 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

EAGAN, Minn. — Harrison Smith, just like anyone approaching middle age, has learned to accept the realities of getting older. The joints, for one, don’t quite move as effortlessly as they once did.

So that’s where the 14th-year free safety for the Minnesota Vikings has aimed his recent training regimens, customizing resistance exercises to simulate the stress that NFL games can place on critical areas of the body.

Reaching at full extension to make a tackle at full speed puts the arm muscles and tendons in a vulnerable position. The more fluidly the elbow can bend, the better.

“All the strength work in the world isn’t really going to translate to real strength on the field if your joints don’t have the range they once did, especially range under load,” Smith said. “I’ve come up with different ways to work out that aren’t necessarily just the traditional banging weights around. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with that, but if you don’t have your range ready, it’s kind of almost counterproductive.”

In a sport where less than half the players in the league last season had at least five years of experience, as salary cap constraints perpetually conspire with constant injury risk and overall physical decline, the fountain of youth can seem like a unicorn. Smith’s approach provides some valuable clues for finding the most vital source: wisdom.

“When you meet Harrison Smith, right away you understand why he might be the type of person to defy odds, and he’s done nothing short of convincing us that over these few years,” Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said.

From a famous quarterback like Aaron Rodgers dropping back in the pocket to a steady six-time Pro Bowl pick like Smith patrolling the secondary, the young man’s league still has some space for gray hair. But sticking around takes more than just determination and talent.

“I feel great, actually. I don’t feel like a 37-year-old. Not sure what they’re supposed to feel like, but I feel a little younger,” San Francisco 49ers left tackle Trent Williams said at the beginning of training camp. “As we get older, things start to change. I think you’ve got to pay a little bit more attention to what you put in your body, how you treat your body. Moreso than just being a football player, it’s just a natural maturation of a human being. When you get older you can’t do the same things you did when you were 22.”

According to an Associated Press review of the 90-man rosters across the league last week, there are 30 players currently with an NFL club who were born in the 1980s. That’s barely 1%. Not only has Generation X been long gone from the game, once Tom Brady retired in 2023, but Millennials are already in the minority.

Rodgers, of course, is the oldest active player at 41, followed by New York Jets kicker Nick Folk (40) and Cleveland Browns quarterback Joe Flacco (40). The sturdy 30 includes six long snappers, two punters and two kickers, plus nine quarterbacks — the positions that usually produce the longest-lasting players.

“You have to evolve every single year,” Kansas City Chiefs tight Travis Kelce said.

The 36-year-old Smith is the lone defensive back. Kelce is the only offensive skill-position player who’s not a quarterback. Williams and Arizona Cardinals left tackle Kelvin Beachum, now a backup, are the offensive linemen. Demario Davis of the New Orleans Saints and Nick Bellore of the Washington Commanders, who plays almost exclusively on special teams, are the linebackers. Then there’s a well-decorated group of five defensive linemen: Calais Campbell (Arizona Cardinals), Cameron Heyward (Pittsburgh Steelers), John Jenkins (Baltimore Ravens), Cameron Jordan (New Orleans Saints) and Von Miller (Washington Commanders).

“I still feel great. I feel like I can go out there and dominate,” said Campbell, who returned this year to his original team, the Cardinals. “I wish I had a magic formula. I think I’ve just been blessed. God’s given me a lot of blessings to play this game I love.”

NFL sells network to ESPN

The NFL has entered into a nonbinding agreement to sell NFL Network and other media assets to ESPN.

The league will receive a 10% equity stake in ESPN in return. The deal still requires a final agreement, the approval of NFL owners and regulatory clearance. ESPN plans to include NFL Network in its upcoming direct-to-consumer service.

The NFL will continue to own and produce the RedZone channel but will allow ESPN to distribute it. NFL Fantasy Football will merge with ESPN Fantasy Football. Viewers are unlikely to see changes until next year.

Vikings star suspended

MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Jordan Addison has been suspended for three games by the NFL.

The suspension is due to a violation of the league’s personal conduct policy related to a drunken driving case from last year. Addison avoided a trial by pleading no contest to a lesser charge last month. He was arrested in July 2024 when found asleep in his vehicle.

The suspension will affect games against Chicago, Atlanta and Cincinnati. Addison, the 23rd pick of the 2023 draft, has been a key player alongside Justin Jefferson. The Vikings will rely on other receivers during his absence.

Elsewhere in the NFL:

– Teddy Bridgewater is returning to the NFL with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Buccaneers signed Bridgewater to a one-year deal on Tuesday. The Buccaneers are the eighth team in 12 seasons for the 32-year-old Bridgewater. Bridgewater coached his former high school in Miami to a Class 3A state championship last fall and then returned to the NFL in late December to serve as a backup to Jared Goff for the playoff-bound Lions. He will provide insurance behind Baker Mayfield.