Tom Brady played against a lot of great quarterbacks during his 23-year NFL career, from Peyton Manning and Drew Brees to Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson.
In terms of pure throwing ability, however, Brady believes Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is the best in NFL history — himself included.
“Aaron, in his prime, to me is the greatest passer of the football the league’s ever seen,” Brady said in a recent interview with NFL broadcaster Cris Collinsworth. “He could get the ball from point A to B faster and more accurate than any player, I think, in the history of the NFL.”
That’s high praise coming from Brady, regarded by many as the best quarterback in NFL history. He won three NFL MVP awards and a record seven Super Bowls during his illustrious career — three more than any other quarterback.
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While Rodgers only has one championship, there’s a case to be made that he’s more talented than Brady was and a better pure quarterback. He won four MVPs to Brady’s three, has a higher career completion percentage (65.1% vs. 64.3%) and boasts the lowest interception rate (1.4%) of all-time. He was also much more mobile than Brady, who was notoriously slow and statue-esque in the pocket.
Now 41 and in his 21st NFL season, Rodgers is trying to replicate Brady’s success at an advanced age. Brady won his last Super Bowl in his 21st season at age 43 after switching teams, so perhaps Rodgers can do the same in his first season with the Steelers.
Rodgers isn’t the elite quarterback he was in his prime anymore, but he’s still effective. In 17 games for the New York Jets last year, he racked up 3,897 passing yards with a 28:11 TD/INT ratio.
If Rodgers can turn back the clock a bit, he may be able to revitalize Pittsburgh’s offense and lead his new team back to the playoffs for the third straight season.
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