With Tom Brady now firmly retired, the seven-time Super Bowl winner has been staying busy this NFL season by hosting his own podcast.
Every week, Brady gets asked some fascinating questions on his "Let's Go" podcast and this week was no different. During the most recent episode, Shaquille O'Neal made a guest appearance and the former NBA star wanted to get Brady's take on who the next Tom Brady might end up being in the NFL.
Not surprisingly, Brady mentioned Patrick Mahomes' name.
"I think, when I'm looking at guys in pro football, quarterbacks, you know, Patrick is the one that really stands out," Brady said. "They've done a great job since he's really taken over and he's got a really great coach -- like I was fortunate [to have] and you were fortunate [to have] -- that helps you and is there for you when things are going good, and not good. Gives you the humble pie when things are going good and knows how to pick you up when things aren't good, but it's going to be interesting."
Although Mahomes' name came up, it doesn't sound like Brady actually thinks there's going to be another Brady and that's mostly thanks to Father Time. Brady played in the NFL for 23 seasons and he has a hard time seeing someone else pull that off.
"People have to do it for a long time, I did it for a long time," Brady said. "When I look at my career, I was able to do it every single year for basically every single game. I only missed twice: Once when I got suspended for four games and once when I tore my ACL. Every game wasn't perfect, but every game was pretty good. Most of the time, I never put our team in a position to lose and there are very few guys like that, that I'm watching over and over and over."
As Brady mentioned, he rarely missed any time. The former NFL star only missed 19 games in his entire career once he became the full-time starter in New England in 2001. He missed 15 due to his ACL injury in 2008 and then he missed four more in 2016 after getting hit with a Deflategate suspension.
One reason Brady doesn't think anyone will last two decades is because the quarterback position is evolving in such a way that could prevent guys from making it 20 years in the league.
"The way the game is going and a lot of the guys are running the ball a lot more, it just makes for a shorter career," Brady said.
That doesn't mean necessarily mean that running quarterbacks suffer more injuries, it just means that it's not easy for a running quarterback to remain a running quarterback as they get older. Lamar Jackson might be able to outrun everyone now at age 26, but when he's 36, that almost certainly won't be the case. Josh Allen might be able to bulldoze his way through players when he scrambles at age 27, but those runs will take a bigger toll on him as he gets older.
"Running quarterbacks don't last that long, so I don't know who can play 21 years, I really don't," Brady said. "I know what it took and it took a lot. I'm sure some of the people have ambitions to try, but there are a lot of things that need to go your way. The only reason why I was able to do it was because I had so many people there to support me, physically, mentally, emotionally. From Day 1 that I got drafted all the way to my last day as a Buccaneer. I had people there who were in my corner, the best group of people to support me and I wanted to show up and do my part to give back to them, too."
When it comes to matching Brady's dozens of NFL records, it feels like Mahomes is the only one who truly has a chance. The Chiefs QB already has two Super Bowl wins during five full seasons as Kansas City's starter. However, even at the pace, it would take Mahomes 16 or 17 years to reach seven Lombardi Trophies.
Mahomes is the only active QB with multiple Super Bowl wins as a starter (Jimmy Garoppolo has two rings as a backup), and if he can't match Brady, it's hard to envision anyone pulling it off.
