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Joe Montana Leaves Patrick Mahomes Off List of Best NFL Quarterbacks

Ryan Phillips

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was left off Joe Montana's list of best quarterbacks to start a franchise with.
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was left off Joe Montana's list of best quarterbacks to start a franchise with. / Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images
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Joe Montana has thoughts on the current crop of NFL quarterbacks, and they're sure to be controversial.

On Tuesday, during an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show, the Hall of Famer was asked by former Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians to pick his top three current NFL quarterbacks to start a franchise with. The answers might surprise you.

Montana was not allowed to pick Brock Purdy, which makes sense because the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback has been open with his affinity for the guy currently holding the spot.

He picked Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, and Justin Herbert, then added Jalen Hurts to the mix.

When called out for not picking Patrick Mahomes, Montana said, "I think I would have if he was younger."

He did rethink things and say that because quarterbacks aren't being hit as much as they used to be, Mahomes will probably "play forever." So he decided he should have probably added him in there.

Very few people would argue with Allen and Burrow being included in the top three, but Purdy and Herbert over Mahomes will certainly turn heads.

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Ryan Phillips
RYAN PHILLIPS

Ryan Phillips is a senior writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has worked in digital media since 2009, spending eight years at The Big Lead before joining SI in 2024. Phillips also co-hosts The Assembly Call Podcast about Indiana Hoosiers basketball and previously worked at Bleacher Report. He is a proud San Diego native and a graduate of Indiana University’s journalism program.

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