Currently, there are seven Jets that are at least 30 years old — Davis is the oldest. Phillips just turned 30 this year and looks to his fellow defensive lineman as a role model. Last season, the Jets had one of the youngest rosters in the NFL.
"I'm younger than he is and so if I'm waking up like, 'Ah' and he's out there, I'm like all right I don't really have much ground to stand on, this guy's played a lot more snaps in this league and is still out there doing the same things," Phillips said.
Lasting in the NFL from a production standpoint also isn't easy. Position turnover can be common, and at times expected. Davis credits Smith, who is 2 years younger than him, for always showing up "with the right attitude."
"This is high-level business," Davis said. "To play past 3 years, 8 years, a decade in this business is very tough, just ask guys who've done it, and to do it at the most important position says a lot. To do it as a starter says even more. So you would have at this point what you would believe to have is the reason he keeps ending up on rosters is the reason he keeps ending up on the starting lineup, so I'm excited to have him at this point in his career."
Some habits never die and for Smith, he's never lost his love of football or desire to study just as hard as he did when he was a rookie in 2013.
"I've just gotten older," Smith said. "Overall, I've always felt like I've had talent, but I feel like my fundamentals have grown and that's on and off the field. I feel like the leadership aspect has grown throughout my experience in the league and all the great quarterbacks I've been around, great coordinators as well as I'm a lot more calm. It's a lot less of what am I trying to figure out, what to expect, I kind of know what to expect now and so just a lot more calm in my demeanor."