List of NFL players by games played

Playing in the NFL is one of the most physically demanding sports. The players are exposed to many hard hits and are often injured. This plus given the fact the NFL is highly competitive, and there is a large group of talented players wanting to take the place of those who are injured or no longer able to perform at a high level, most careers are not long. The average length of a player's career in the National Football League is relatively short compared to other sports. One study shows the average career lasts around 3.3 years.^[1] Kickers and punters careers average 4.87 seasons.^[1] On the other end, the shortest average careers are the running backs, only 2.57 seasons.^[1] According to data compiled by another study,^[2] quarterbacks and offensive linemen are next on the list with average career spans of 4.44 and 3.63 seasons, respectively. Defensive linemen usually have longer careers than linebackers and cornerbacks. Wide receivers careers average just above running backs at 2.81 seasons^[2]

Some players avoid injury and maintain their high skill level. The following list has the top 250 players who have the most regular season game appearances. All have played at least a dozen seasons in the league. One player, George Blanda^[3] played in 4 decades from the 1940s to the 1970s. Blanda played 26 seasons and was 48 years old when he retired.

All-time most appearances

Regular season only:^[4] (includes NFL and AFL games)

Morten Andersen played in 382 NFL games, more than any other player.

Positions played

C	Center	G	Guard	NT	Nose Tackle	QB	Quarterback
CB	Cornerback	K	Placekicker	OL	0Off. Lineman0	RB	Running Back
DE	Defensive End	KR	0Kick Returner0	OT	Off. Tackle	S	Safety
DT	0Defensive Tackle0	LB	Linebacker	P	Punter	TE	Tight End
FB	Fullback	LS	Long Snapper	PR	0Punt Returner0	WR	Wide Receiver

If more than one position is listed for a player, the BOLD listing is his primary position. This list is sorted by 1) games played, 2) first year played, 3) last year played

Bold denotes an active player

Most games for that position^

Elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame*

Tom Brady has played the most NFL games at quarterback, 335.

Jason Hanson holds the NFL record of 21 seasons with the same team as placekicker for the Lions.

Jerry Rice played 303 games as a wide receiver, an NFL record.

Bruce Matthews (left) played a record 296 games as an offensive lineman. His brother Clay (right) holds the record for games at linebacker.

No one has played more games at the cornerback position than Darrell Green

Jim Marshall holds the record for most games played at defensive end, 282.

Jason Witten is second for longevity record for tight ends with 271 games played.

Lou Groza, who set the standard for longevity, was both a kicker and offensive tackle for 268 (52 AAFC) games from the 1940s through the 1960s.

David Binn played 256 games as a long snapper.

Rod Woodson leads all kick and punt returners with 238 games played. He was primarily a cornerback and also played safety.

Emmitt Smith played a record 226 games at running back for the Cowboys and Cardinals before Frank Gore broke that record and retired with the current record of 241 games.

Regular Season Games Played

Rank	Name	Position	Period	Games
1	Morten Andersen*	K ^	1982–2007	382
2	Adam Vinatieri	K	1996–2019	365
3	Gary Anderson	K	1982–2004	353
4	Jeff Feagles	P ^	1988–2009	352
5	George Blanda*	K, QB	1949–1975	340
6	Tom Brady	QB ^	2000–2022	335
7	Jason Hanson	K	1992–2012	327
8	Phil Dawson	K	1999–2018	305
9	Jerry Rice*	WR ^	1985–2004	303
10	John Carney	K	1988–2010	302
	Brett Favre*	QB	1991–2010
12	John Kasay	K	1991–2011	301
13	Matt Stover	K	1991–2009	297
	Andy Lee	P	2004–2022
15	Bruce Matthews*	OL ^	1983–2001	296
16	Darrell Green*	CB ^	1983–2002	295
17	Drew Brees	QB	2001–2020	287
18	Shane Lechler	P	2000–2017	286
19	Sean Landeta	P	1985–2005	284
	Sebastian Janikowski	K	2000–2018
	Marcedes Lewis	TE ^	2006–present
22	Jim Marshall	DE ^	1960–1979	282
23	Trey Junkin	LS ^, TE, LB	1983–2002	281
24	Bruce Smith*	DE	1985–2003	279
25	Clay Matthews	LB ^	1978–1996	278
26	Norm Johnson	K	1982–1999	273
27	Jason Witten	TE	2003–2020	271
28	Tony Gonzalez*	TE	1997–2013	270
29	Junior Seau*	LB	1990–2009	268
30	Peyton Manning*	QB	1998–2015	266
	Julius Peppers	DE, LB	2002–2018
	Robbie Gould	K	2005–2022
33	Jan Stenerud*	K	1967–1985	263
	Lomas Brown	OT ^	1985–2002
	Jason Elam	K	1993–2009
	Larry Fitzgerald	WR	2004–2020
37	Ray Brown	G ^	1986–2005	262
38	Mason Crosby	K	2007–2023	261
39	Nick Lowery	K	1978–1996	260
	Don Muhlbach	LS	2004–2020
	Calais Campbell	DE	2008–present
42	Jackie Slater*	OT	1976–1995	259
	Lee Johnson	P	1985–2002
	J. J. Jansen	LS	2009–present
45	David Binn	LS	1994–2010	256
	London Fletcher	LB	1998–2013
	Sam Koch	P	2006–2022
48	Earl Morrall	QB	1956–1976	255
	Irving Fryar	WR	1984–2000
	Tim Brown*	WR	1988–2004
	Dustin Colquitt	P	2005–2021
52	Charles Woodson*	S ^	1998–2015	254
	Matt Prater	K	2007–present
	Thomas Morstead	P	2009–present
55	L.P. Ladouceur	LS	2005–2020	253
56	Mike Kenn	OT	1978–1994	251
57	Pat Leahy	K	1974–1991	250
	Eddie Murray	K	1980–2000
	Eugene Robinson	S	1985–2000 «»
60	Ben Roethlisberger	QB	2004–2021	249
61	Al Del Greco	K	1984–2000	248
	Jason Peters	OT	2004–2023
63	Aaron Rodgers	QB	2005–present	247
64	Fran Tarkenton*	QB	1961–1978	246
	Jeff Van Note	C ^	1969–1986
	Blair Bush	C ^	1978–1994
67	Mike Webster*	C	1974–1990	245
	Patrick Mannelly	LS	1998–2013
69	Ray Donaldson	C	1980–1996	244
	Ricky Proehl	WR	1990–2006
	Chris Gardocki	P	1991–2006
	Matt Turk	P	1995–2011
	Terrell Suggs	LB	2003–2019
	Philip Rivers	QB	2004–2020
75	Bill Romanowski	LB	1988–2003	243
	Jon Weeks	LS	2010–present
77	Dan Marino*	QB	1983–1999	242
	Nick Folk	K	2007–present
79	Ed White	G	1969–1985	241
	Craig Hentrich	P	1994–2009
	Kevin Mawae*	C	1994–2009
	Ronde Barber*	CB	1997–2012
	Matt Bryant	K	2002–2019
	Frank Gore	RB ^	2005–2020
85	Ron McDole	DE	1961–1978	240
	Mick Tingelhoff*	C	1962–1978
	Ryan Longwell	K	1997–2012
88	Charlie Joiner*	WR	1969–1986	239
	Jerry Fontenot	C	1989–2004
	Chris Mohr	P	1989–2004
	Lorenzo Neal	FB ^	1993–2008
	Andrew Whitworth	OT, G	2006–2021
	Matthew Slater	WR	2008–2023
94	Reggie Roby	P	1983–1998	238
	Rod Woodson*	CB, KR, PR, S	1987–2003
	Bryan Barker	P	1990–2005
	Brad Maynard	P	1997–2011
98	David Akers	K	1998–2013	237
99	Clyde Simmons	DE	1986–2000	236
	Ted Washington	NT ^	1991–2007
	Ethan Albright	LS, C	1995–2010
	Antonio Gates	TE	2003–2018
	Eli Manning	QB	2004–2019
104	Matt Bahr	K	1979–1995	235
	Pete Metzelaars	TE	1982–1997
	Olindo Mare	K	1997–2012
	Mike Leach	LS	2000–2015
108	Jim Bakken	K	1962–1978	234
	Stan Brock	OT	1980–1995
	John Elway*	QB	1983–1998
	Andre Reed*	WR	1985–2000
	Cris Carter*	WR	1987–2002
	Kendall Gammon	LS	1992–2006
	Tony Richardson	FB	1995–2010
	Lawyer Milloy	S	1996–2010
	Matt Ryan	QB	2008–2022
117	James Lofton*	WR	1978–1993	233
	Rohn Stark	P	1982–1997
	Vinny Testaverde	QB	1987–2007
	Jason Taylor*	DE, LB	1997–2011
121	Chris Doleman*	DE	1985–1999	232
	Reggie White*	DE	1985–2000
	Morgan Cox	LS	2010–present
124	Frank Winters	C	1987–2002	231
125	James Farrior	LB	1997–2011	230
	Derrick Mason	WR	1997–2011
127	Steve Christie	K	1990–2004	229
	Keith Traylor	NT	1991–2007
129	Jim Turner	K	1964–1979	228
	Henry Ellard	WR	1983–1998
	Jim Sweeney	C	1984–1999
	Kevin Greene*	LB	1985–1999
	Ray Lewis*	LB	1996–2012
	Mike Adams	S	2004–2019
135	Rickey Jackson*	LB	1981–1995	227
	Jim Jeffcoat	DE	1983–1997
	Raleigh McKenzie	OL	1985–2000
	Casey Wiegmann	C	1997–2011
139	Paul Krause*	S	1964–1979	226
	Emmitt Smith*	RB	1990–2004
	Donnie Jones	P	2004–2018
142	Carl Eller*	DE	1964–1979	225
	Albert Lewis	CB	1983–1998
	Hardy Nickerson	LB	1987–2002
	Keith Brooking	LB	1998–2012
	Cameron Jordan	DE	2011–present
147	John Hadl	QB	1962–1977	224
	Ed "Too Tall" Jones	DE	1974–1989
	Carl Hairston	DE, DT	1976–1990
	Art Monk*	WR	1980–1995
	Mark Royals	P	1987–2003
	Dan Stryzinski	P	1990–2003
	Will Shields*	G	1993–2006
	John Lynch*	S	1993–2007
	Derrick Brooks*	LB	1995–2008
	Kevin Carter	DE	1995–2008
	Brian Dawkins*	S	1996–2011
	John Denney	LS	2005–2018
	Jerry Hughes	DE	2010–present
160	Max Montoya	G	1979–1994	223
	Brian Mitchell	KR^, PR	1990–2003
	Isaac Bruce*	WR	1994–2009
	Brett Kern	P	2008–2022
164	Marcus Allen*	RB	1982–1997	222
	Randall McDaniel*	G	1988–2001
	Matthew Stafford	QB	2009–present
167	Justin Smith	DE	2001–2014	221
	Terence Newman	CB	2003–2017
169	Tom Tupa	P, QB	1988–2004	220
	Dave Moore	TE, LS	1992–2006
	Bob Whitfield	OT	1992–2006
	Duane Brown	OT	2008–2023
173	John Randle*	DT ^	1990–2003	219
	Jeff Zgonina	DT ^	1993–2009
	Wayne Gandy	OT	1994–2008
	Terrell Owens*	WR	1996–2010
	Takeo Spikes	LB	1998–2012
	Dominic Raiola	C	2001–2014
	Steve Smith, Sr.	WR	2001–2016
	Stephen Gostkowski	K	2006–2020
181	Sonny Jurgensen*	QB	1957–1974	218
	Alan Page*	DT	1967–1981
	Jim Ritcher	OL	1980–1995
	Joe Nash	NT, DT	1982–1996
	Dan Turk	LS	1985–1999
	Randy Moss*	WR	1998–2012
	Dwight Freeney	DE	2002–2017
188	Jerrel Wilson	P	1963–1978	217
	Gene Upshaw*	G	1967–1981
	Guy Morriss	OL	1973–1987
	Bill Bates	S	1983–1997
	Eric Allen	CB	1988–2001
	Hines Ward	WR	1998–2011
194	Lou Groza*	K, OT	1950–1967	216
	Dave Butz	DT	1973–1988
	Dave Brown	CB	1975–1989
	Darryl Talley	LB	1983–1996
	Dwight Stone	KR, WR	1987–2000
	Michael Strahan*	DE	1993–2007
	Kevin Huber	P	2009–2022
	Ryan Succop	K	2009–2022
202	Ted Hendricks*	LB	1969–1983	215
	Monte Coleman	LB	1979–1994
	John Kidd	P	1984–1998
	Champ Bailey*	CB	1999–2013
	Nick Bellore	LB	2011–present
207	Ray Crockett	CB	1989–2002	214
	Vonnie Holliday	DE	1998–2012
	Domata Peko	NT	2006–2019
210	Jimmy Johnson*	CB	1961–1976	213
	Pat Fischer	CB	1961–1977
	Mark Moseley	K	1970–1986
	Steve McMichael	DT	1980–1994
	Dave Krieg	QB	1980–1998
	Kevin Gogan	G	1987–2000
	Henry Thomas	DT	1987–2000
	Todd Steussie	OL	1994–2007
218	Jeff Gossett	P	1981–1996	212
	Rodney Holman	TE	1982–1995
	Brian Hansen	P	1984–1999
	Bruce Armstrong	OT	1987–2000
	Roman Phifer	LB	1991–2005
	Willie McGinest	LB	1994–2008
	Rian Lindell	K	2000–2013
	Karlos Dansby	LB	2004–2017
226	Johnny Unitas*	QB	1956–1973	211
	Len Dawson*	QB	1957–1975
	Drew Hill	WR	1979–1993
	Earnest Byner	RB	1984–1997
	Ed West	TE	1984–1997
	Jeff Dellenbach	C	1985–1999
	Trace Armstrong	DE	1989–2003
	Aeneas Williams*	CB, S	1991–2004
	Jeff Saturday	C	1999–2012
	Jay Feely	K	2001–2014
	Reggie Wayne	WR	2001–2014
	Johnathan Joseph	CB	2006–2020
	Justin Tucker	K	2012–present
	Johnny Hekker	P	2012–present
240	Jim Otto*	C	1960–1974	210
	Fred Cox	K	1963–1977
	Jackie Smith*	TE	1963–1978
	Elvin Bethea*	DE	1968–1983
	Chris Bahr	K	1976–1989
	Matt Birk	C	1998–2012
	Cameron Heyward	DT	2011–present
247	Randy White*	DT	1975–1988	209
	Jessie Tuggle	LB	1987–2000
	Terrell Buckley	CB	1992–2005
	Keenan McCardell	WR	1992–2007
	Matt Hasselbeck	QB	1999–2015
	Brad Meester	C	2000–2013
	Antoine Bethea	S	2006–2019
	Bryan Anger	P	2012–present
	Demario Davis	LB	2012–present
Rank	Name	Position	Period	Games

See also

• List of most consecutive starts and games played by National Football League players

References

1. "Average playing career length in the National Football League". Retrieved October 14, 2024.
2. "What Is The Average Length of an NFL Career, By Position?". Retrieved October 14, 2024.
3. "George Blanda game logs". Retrieved October 14, 2024.
4. "Most NFL games played". Pro football reference.com. Retrieved April 10, 2016.