When Troy Aikman retired as the Cowboys’ quarterback after the 2000 season, he was a shadow of his former self. He suffered from persistent back injuries and looked like an old man on the field. He was 34 years old.

Aikman says that with today’s quarterback protection rules in place, he would never have suffered those back injuries and would have been able to play much longer. For him, quarterback protection has been the biggest change in the game since his days as a player.

“I would probably say protecting the quarterback,” Aikman said. said Kevin Clark on This Is Football“I played 12 years. I would have played a lot longer, and I think going forward it’s going to be the norm to see quarterbacks playing to age 40 and beyond. I think if someone retires before age 40, it’s going to be a little surprising.”

Aikman said today’s quarterbacks can’t believe the beating he and his contemporaries have endured.

“Quarterbacks just don’t take the penalties we took in my day,” Aikman said. “Any time a quarterback gets hit, they immediately look for a flag. I should put together a highlight video of the worst hits I took, and you’d think those players probably would have been banned from the NFL, and there wasn’t even a penalty on the play. It’s definitely changed a lot.”