If Vikings' Terence Newman wins a Super Bowl, he might return at 40 to 'try to get two'

"Let's just say hypothetically speaking that I was able to (win a Super Bowl), then why not try to get two?'' Newman said Thursday, Jan. 18. "You can look at it at both sides.''

Newman is optimistic he still could be an impact player next season at 40, if he decides to stick around.

"I don't have any problems with that,'' Newman said.

For now, Newman is enjoying the first time he has qualified for a championship game. The Vikings got there with a 29-24 win last Sunday over New Orleans in a divisional playoff that featured Case Keenum throwing a 61-yard touchdown pass to Stefon Diggs on the final play of the game.

"I feel good, just having an opportunity to keep playing,'' Newman said. "This is the longest I've played (in the postseason). It feels good, but at the same time, obviously nobody is satisfied with where we're at. With that in mind, we're going into (Sunday) with a purpose, and that's to try to win the football game.''

Newman played 28 of 68 snaps against the Saints. Meanwhile, in New England's 35-14 win over Tennessee in an AFC playoff game last weekend, linebacker James Harrison was in for 30 of 67 snaps.

Harrison, who is 39 and four months older than Newman, is the oldest defensive player in the league. With the Patriots playing host to Jacksonville, Newman likes how both of the old guys will be appearing Sunday in championship games.

"We're having fun,'' he said.

For most of his career, Newman has had playoff frustration. In eight previous playoff games with Dallas, Cincinnati and the Vikings, his teams had gone just 1-7.

"It's one of those things where it could give you a false sense of hope as a young player if this is what you're in your very first year,'' Newman said of the NFC championship. "But the reality of it is it's hard to continue to do that. The New Englands of the world, they've been in that position quite a bit, but it's not something that happens often.''

That's a message Newman has been looking to impart to Minnesota's young players.

"It's awesome, him playing that long and it's his first championship game,'' said rookie linebacker Ben Gedeon. "You realize how special this opportunity is. With me being a rookie, I've learned a lot from a guy who's been around so long.''

Newman, one of Minnesota's six captains, has been teaching Gedeon plenty this season. Gedeon said Newman has provided pointers on how to watch film and prepare for games and on route concepts, formations and tendencies of opponents.

Perhaps Newman still might be around next season giving advice, even if 40-year-old cornerbacks are virtually unheard of in NFL history. One who did last that long was hall of famer Darrell Green, who was nicknamed the "Ageless Wonder" and played for Washington from 1983-2002 before retiring at 42.

Wide receiver Jarius Wright could see Newman still playing at 40.

"T-New's very smart, so it's not always about athletic ability when you're smart enough to know things and be in the right place,'' Wright said. "That would be amazing, but if anybody can do it, T-New can do it. He's still got it.''