NFL legend Joe Montana reveals his ‘best’ quarterback of all time

The argument over the greatest NFL quarterback of all time usually comes down to Joe Montana and Tom Brady. 

When Montana retired after the 1994 season, he did so with four Super Bowl victories and was widely viewed as the best to play the position. 

Nearly 30 years later, Brady, with his seven rings, is now considered by many to be the GOAT as the league begins its first season without the legendary quarterback since 1999. 

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However, Montana named another quarterback as the “best QB” of all time in a recent interview with “Men’s Health.” 

Dan Marino, who played 17 seasons with the Miami Dolphins, never won a championship, but Montana gives him the nod for “best” quarterback of all time. 

“He had a quick release. I had to step into a lot of things to get enough [force] on the ball,” Montana says of Marino. “He had the perfect torque of his upper body and strength to deliver the ball quickly at a fast release with accuracy.”

The Men’s Health article clarifies there is a difference between the greatest QB, which “typically refers to career achievements,” and best QB, which refers to a quarterback’s “individual talent.” 

Marino earns the title of “best QB” from Montana, who also wondered how great Marino would have been if he played in today’s NFL.

“Put Marino into today’s game where he gets free release … and his receivers, holy cow, weren’t very big,” Montana explained. “Now, these guys are 6-4, 6-5. I think [Marino] is probably one of the most unsung heroes of the game. People don’t talk enough about him or realize the numbers that he put up during the times that he put them up.”

Marino is still seventh in NFL history with 61,361 passing yards and seventh in career passing touchdowns (420). 

In his 17 NFL seasons, all with the Dolphins, Marino led the league in passing yards five times and threw the most touchdown passes in the league three times.