Remember when there was a big hullabaloo about the idea of Tom Brady playing in the NFL until he’s 50? Well, that’s child’s play. NFL great Joe Montana has thrown it out there that there’s a possibility Brady could play until he’s 60. Maybe.
Montana recently spoke with USA TODAY’s Mackenzie Salmon about the Tampa Bay Buccaneers signal-caller and he felt that the way the game has evolved to protect quarterbacks, Brady could theoretically play way longer since his body won’t take the damage that guys like him used to.
“They don’t even touch him,” Montana joked. “He’s hardly ever getting hit. So, he could play until maybe 60, I don’t know. It’s always about the physical part. How long can you handle that part of it?”
“The way it is with the rules today, he just doesn’t take those big hits anymore. Yeah, he gets hit on occasion, but it’s never one of those, ‘300 pounds compressing you into the ground.’ They stopped that from being legal. They just don’t do that anymore.
“As long as he physically can throw the football . . . he’s not a runner, you know, he’s going to stay in that pocket. As long as you can protect him in there, he’ll stay in there, and they’re not gonna hit him. So yeah, he’ll play as long as he can keep performing like that.”
Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana says NFL rules, and a talented supporting cast, mean Tom Brady can play as long as he wants https://t.co/2Jaq4a8Q2H
— The Bucs Wire (@TheBucsWire) October 7, 2021
Montana is obviously being a bit tongue in cheek about the whole 60-years-old thing but he brings up a valuable point that we are likely to see quarterbacks play longer in the league compared to their predecessors. Between the league’s rules protecting them and a solid offensive line, a good quarterback could find themselves playing well into their 40s just like Brady. Of course, winning all those Super Bowls certainly helps his cause too.
