Getty
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes will suit up for Week 1 of the 2025 preseason.
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes will be turning 30 in a little more than two weeks, and one NFL legend believes the hands of Father Time may have already taken away a bit of his magic.
In an appearance on Tuesday, Hall of Fame quarterback and former Chiefs signal-caller Joe Montana offered a surprising take on Mahomes. Montana shared some doubts about whether Mahomes can remain at his peak, suggesting that he has dropped out of the top 3 in the league.
Joe Montana Drops Patrick Mahomes
Speaking on the Pat McAfee Show on Sept. 2, former NFL coach Bruce Arians asked Montana for his top quarterbacks — with the caveat that he couldn’t mention Brock Purdy, the current 49ers quarterback who Montana has vocally backed in the past.
Montana didn’t list Mahomes among his top tier of quarterbacks, instead making a surprise addition.
“Give me Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, and Justin Herbert,” Montana said.
While Allen is the reigning league MVP and Burrow is seen as an MVP candidate as well, naming Herbert came as a surprise to many. Montana then named Mahomes among his second tier of candidates.
“I do also really like Jalen Hurts and Patrick Mahomes,” he said.
When pressed for why he dropped Mahomes so low, Montana pointed to his age.
“I think I would have if he was younger,” Montana said.
Many fans pushed back on Montana’s rankings, with some accusing him of being jealous of Mahomes and his accomplishments. The Chiefs quarterback has entered “greatest of all time” debates already, with many seasons ahead for him to catch Montana and Tom Brady’s career accomplishments.
“Montana clearly knows that Mahomes is above him in the GOAT conversations,” one fan shared in a post on X. “Dude is salty enough to leave him off the list”
Patrick Mahomes Ranked No. 5 in NFL This Season
Mahomes still has plenty of respect from his peers, with fellow players ranking him No. 5 in the annual “NFL Top 100” rankings. The write-up accompanying the list noted that Mahomes has been finding ways to squeeze the most talent out of his team’s wide receiving corps.
“The two-time most valuable player once again faced adversity with a depleted receiving corps in 2024, resulting in the second straight year without a 1,000-yard pass catcher,” the report noted. “Of course, that didn’t prevent Mahomes from leading Kansas City to a 15-1 record as a starter and a third straight Super Bowl appearance.”
The report added that Mahomes has simply found ways to win.
“While he burst onto the scene with incredible passing numbers, winning football games has been the 29-year-old’s specialty — achieving such success with incredible field awareness in the pocket and on the run, with his biggest plays often coming in the fourth quarter, where he led the league in fourth-quarter comebacks (five) and game-winning drives (seven) this past season,” the report read. “Mahomes’ knack for making the impossible throws also sets him apart, and although the numbers might have prevented Mahomes from making his seventh straight Pro Bowl, there’s arguably no other QB you’d want with the game on the line.”
Nathan Dougherty is a sports reporter covering the NFL for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Buffalo Bills, Detroit Lions and Miami Dolphins. Previously he wrote for the Rochester Business Journal and served as the assistant editor of athletic trade magazines Coaching Management, Athletic Management and Training & Conditioning. He is based out of Rochester, New York, and loves everything football. More about Nathan Dougherty
