Dan Marino. Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

Dan Marino makes bold claim about playing in the current NFL

By Trevor Woods | Last updated 9/14/23

Miami Dolphins Hall-of-Famer Dan Marino was the most prolific quarterback of all time statistically when he retired in 2000.

When Marino retired he was the all-time leader in touchdown passes (420), yardage (61,361), completions (4,967) and attempts (8,358).

However, over two decades have now gone by, football has evolved and become more pass-centric. Marino now ranks No. 7 in career passing touchdowns, No. 8 in career passing yards and No. 9 in passing completions.

Marino was asked if he'd like to have a run at this era of NFL defense.

"The best part about this is I'm retired and I don't have to prove it," Marino said. "Yes, we'd throw for 6,000 yards."

I asked Dan Marino if he’d put up 6,000 yards if he played in this era . pic.twitter.com/zuOQhyVxiV
— Kevin Clark (@bykevinclark) September 14, 2023

Marino noted it would be a lot of fun and he'd come back if he had a chance to throw to NFL legends such as Jerry Rice and Randy Moss with Emmit Smith in the backfield he'd do it. He also threw Dolphins wideout Tyreek Hill's name into the mix.

While Marino's comments are in good fun, there's no doubt NFL defenses aren't what they once were. Marino said that in the middle and later part of his career defenses became more complex with more blitzes and personnel changes, but acknowledged things have changed on the defensive side of things that make the life of a quarterback easier. Marino said the quarterback is protected more and more penalties are called via pass interference and defensive holding.

"You can't hit the quarterback the way you used to," Marino said. "You can't get a shot in the head; they can't go to your knees. That's a good thing because when I played you were allowed to do that. Players could take shots at you."

Marino's playing days are long over at 61 years old, but his ability to provide great soundbites is still in top form.

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