If you took a poll of NFL fans and asked them to name the best quarterback in NFL history, most of them would probably say Tom Brady, but if they said that, then they’d be wrong, at least according to Ryan Fitzpatrick.
During an interview on The Adam Schefter Podcast, the recently retired quarterback revealed that he thinks that Peyton Manning is the greatest QB “to ever live.” Fitztpatrick wasn’t even asked about the subject, he just decided to bring it up after spending a few minutes on the podcast talking about Brady.
“My favorite quarterback I got to play against was Peyton Manning,” Fitzpatrick said. “Peyton had the laser focus and everything else. I think Peyton is the greatest quarterback to ever live.”
Fitzpatrick then quickly followed that up by also complimenting Brady.
“I think Tom Brady is the greatest champion, but I think Peyton is the greatest quarterback to ever live,” Fitzpatrick said.
The former journeyman quarterback, who announced his retirement on Friday, gave the nod to Manning because of the way the former Colts and Broncos QB changed the game.
“Everything that dude did, he did everything with so much intent,” Fitzpatrick said. “He changed the game with how he approached it from the mental side with all the things they were doing in Indy … To have control and command in every aspect of the game like he did, he was the most impressive I ever saw.”
During his 18-year career, Manning went to four Super Bowls, winning two of them. He also won an NFL record five MVP awards to go along with 14 Pro Bowl appearances.
Although Brady didn’t get Fitzpatrick’s vote as the “best QB to ever live,” the former Bills quarterback did say that the seven-time Super Bowl winner has a mental game that’s second to none.
“To be able to do it for as long as he has on the mental side of it, to be able to be so locked in for every single game, that part of it and being a quarterback and knowing the grind that it takes week in and week out, that part of it just doesn’t make sense to me,” Fitzpatrick said. “It’s so incredible to look at his preparation and how zoned and locked in he is for every single game. That part is unparalleled, unmatched by anybody.”
The Brady-Manning debate was once one of the most constant arguments in bars around the country for about five years (2011-16), but that seemed to change after Brady won his fifth, sixth and seventh Super Bowl titles between 2016 and 2020. Despite those wins, Fitzpatrick is still giving the nod to Manning as the best QB ever.
As for the current crop of quarterbacks, Fitzpatrick said that he’s a fan of Patrick Mahomes and Joe Burrow, but only one current QB is his favorite one to watch.
“My favorite quarterback to watch is Josh Allen,” Fitzpatrick said. “Allen’s my favorite because it looks effortless and he’s so talented and he still doesn’t know how good he is and he’s just going to continue to get better … I think a lot of it for him is that he doesn’t even realize how good he is and he’s so humble that the work is always going to come and his teammates are always going to play hard for him.”
There’s been speculation that Fitzpatrick could end up on television covering the NFL and if that happens, it seems like he’ll probably be pretty good at the job because it’s pretty clear that he has no problem sharing his opinions, even it means that nearly every Brady fan alive is going to turn on him.
