Big Ben delivers surprising verdict on Patrick Mahomes’ prime years

There's no denying the fact that Patrick Mahomes will, at some point, no longer be in his prime years. It happens to every player who continues to play as long as his skill set allows, and the Kansas City Chiefs superstar will fall prey to the same.

Very few understand the nature of the quarterback position and what it would feel like to fade from greatness like former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. And if you ask Big Ben, he'll tell that Mahomes is already on the way down.

On a recent episode of his podcast, Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger, the former Steeler talked at length about veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who recently signed a one-year deal with Pittsburgh. When asked about a comparison with Rodgers and Mahomes, Roethlisberger had something interesting to note about Mahomes' trajectory.

Ben Roethlisberger thinks Patrick Mahomes' best years are behind him.

"Well, I would take Aaron and his prime over Patrick now. I think Aaron Rodgers at his prime was one of the top few to ever do it, and so is Patrick Mahomes at his prime.  Patrick Mahomes is just entering out of his prime. I think Aaron Rodgers."

Clearly, Roethlisberger thinks highly of Rodgers' prime, as he should, and he was quick to add that he has a lot of respect for Mahomes as well. That's not in question. In fact, Roethlisberger noted that he wasn't sure who he would take if both players were in their prime years.

"Yes, I think Patrick Mahomes is phenomenal. He's going to go down as, you know, another arguable goat. You know what I mean? There's only like one goat, but there's goats—the whole herd of goats, I think Aaron in his prime, then we're talking about Patrick right now. Yeah. If we're talking prime and prime, then I'm going to have to think really hard on that."

The primary takeaway here isn't anything related to Rodgers versus Mahomes. Such discussions are subjective anyway. It's interesting to hear someone refer to Mahomes as someone entering the back nine of his career, a player whose best years and most productive seasons are behind him.

There's no denying Mahomes had a "down year" in 2024 in terms of offensive numbers, but the reasons for the dip should be obvious—from o-line headaches to myriad injuries at the skill positions. Maybe Big Ben isn't hip to those clues, or maybe he's convinced something more is at work. The best response, of course, would be another blistering season from Mahomes in 2025 to show there's plenty more to come.