Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner has installed New England Patriots veteran signal-caller Tom Brady as the top quarterback heading into the 2019 season. In an interview with NFL Network, Warner said Brady still leads the pack in terms of quarterback power ranking in 2019, ahead of Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs, Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints and Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers. While Warner stressed that Brady, at some point, will not be the best quarterback in the league, as of now, he doesn’t see him slowing down.

“I mean, he just won another championship, so I don’t see him slowing down,” said Warner, who retired in 2010. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2017, going down as the greatest undrafted player in NFL history. Warner is the only person inducted into both the Pro Football Hall of Fame and Arena Football Hall of Fame.

Warner heaps praise on Brady

According to Warner, Brady’s consistent play year in and year out will have New England vying for another championship. “So Tom Brady gets my No. 1 spot,” added Warner, who placed Brees at No. 2, followed by Mahomes, Rodgers and Ben Roethlisberger of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Warner and Brady went head to head in Super Bowl XXXVI in 2001, where the Patriots won the first of their six Super Bowl trophies via a 20-17 score behind Adam Vinatieri's 48-yard field goal.

Warner outplayed Brady, completing 28 of 44 passes for 365 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions. Brady, for his part, went 16 of 27 for 145 yards and a score, but he successfully led a drive without any time that set up Vinatieri’s game-winning field goal. An undrafted player in the 1994 NFL Draft, Warner first made his name in the Arena Football League before he was signed by the then-St.

Louis Rams in 1998. He also played for the New York Giants and the Arizona Cardinals. He finished his career with 32,344 yards and 208 touchdowns with 128 interceptions.

Chris Long lauds Brady, Belichick

Veteran defensive end Chris Long, who recently announced his retirement after 11 seasons in the NFL, praised Brady and Patriots head coach Bill Belichick in an interview with Peter King of NBC Sports.

In his lone season with the Patriots, Long won his first Super Bowl ring via comeback win over the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI. During the interview, Long praised Belichick's coaching genius, saying “in my career playing football, nobody asked me to do as much as Bill Belichick did.” According to Long, he has learned a lot watching Belichick in practice, adding that the veteran mentor can coach any position as good as any position coach in the league. “He can walk around the field and stop drills and coach each position—at the highest level,” said Long, who played all 16 games with the Patriots.

The 34-year-old Long added that Brady blew him away with his attitude on and off the field. According to Long, Brady introduced himself when he first joined the Patriots.

“A lot of people want to hate him for all the success, and I understand how you can dislike the Patriots, but I cannot understand how you can dislike Tom,” said Long, adding that Brady is a positive presence in the locker room owing to his good relationship with teammates.