Raiders' Woodson aging like fine wine

Eighteen seasons, 39 years old.

Charles Woodson’s career began with excellence during his Heisman Trophy tenure at Michigan. Now, that career has become a case study in enduring excellence that continues to find new heights.

And the funny thing is that Woodson, now a safety in his second tour with the Oakland Raiders, doesn’t take himself too seriously on the topic, even while the Lions were singing his praises Wednesday.

“It’s all in the grapes, man,” Woodson said in a conference call with Detroit reporters, offering a sly nod to his eponymous wine label in Napa Valley, Calif. “That’s what I keep telling everybody. It’s in the grapes. Cabernet grapes.”

Woodson might not be turning water into wine, but he is turning back the clock. He is performing at a level that would make a player who is 29 jealous. He is tied for the NFL lead with five interceptions and recently chased down Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Antonio Brown, who is 27 and had a sizable head start.

“No, not even once that I can remember did I really put a number on it,” Woodson said of his longevity. “I can honestly say that I never pictured 18 (seasons), so be to be at this point is even remarkable to me because I never set out to play a certain amount of years. I just wanted to play, I wanted to be great at the game, and however it turned out, it turned out. But I never looked this far into it.”

But now that he’s here, peering over the edge and looking at the near future, Woodson said he could see himself playing at 40 next year.

“Yeah, I guess I’m already there pretty much,” he said. “Could I see myself going another year? I guess I could. I mean, it’s right there. It’s not like it’s five years away. It’s right there, so I could see it. Would that happen? I’m not quite sure about that.”

Woodson’s contract expires after this season, so there’s no guarantee of where he might end up. But he has started all nine games this season while dealing with a shoulder injury, and he certainly isn’t giving anyone any reason to think he wouldn’t still be a major contributor.

“He looks like the ageless wonder out there,” Lions receiver Lance Moore said. “Funny, a lot of times you see a guy who’s an aging player, and he flashes and might make a play every now and again. But he seems to make plays every single game and definitely still looks like he’s in his prime and probably playing some of the best ball out of any safety in the NFL. Ball hawk. Sure-tackler. Their quarterback on defense, you could say. It’s really impressive to watch him, and it’ll be fun to play against him for sure.”

The Lions have been watching film of the Raiders this week, and they all praised his play against Brown. What made Woodson’s ability to stop Brown on a 57-yard reception especially meaningful was that he caught Brown at the 15-yard line to prevent a touchdown with 45 seconds left. Woodson took extra delight in showing teammates he could still catch a quick player.

“There was no doubt in my mind, but apparently, a few of my teammates thought it was a done deal, it was going to be a touchdown,” Woodson said. “So I’m glad I can prove even my own teammates wrong.”

He doesn’t have to convince the Lions, though.

“He’s doing a great job, and he’s still got some wheels,” quarterback Matthew Stafford said. “He ran down (Brown) in Pittsburgh. He’s made some plays that are really impressive on tape. He’s a really smart player, a savvy player. He’s a guy you’ve got to keep your eye on, for sure, as a quarterback.”

Contact Carlos Monarrez: cmonarrez@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @cmonarrez. Download our free Lions Xtra app on your Apple and Android devices.

Beat writer Dave Birkett will answer your Lions questions in a live chat at 10 a.m. Friday at freep.com/sports. Submit early questions here. Then come back Sunday for a live blog of the Lions-Raiders game. Join Steve Schrader for a postgame chat. Listen to our latest Lions podcast at freep.com/lionspodcast. And check out our Lions Xtra app on Apple and Android!

Up next

for the Lions

Matchup: Oakland (4-5) at Detroit (2-7).

When: 1 p.m. Sunday.

Where: Ford Field, Detroit.

TV: CBS (Channel 62 in Detroit).

Line: Raiders by 2.