Carson Palmer clarifies controversial stance on Joe Burrow vs Patrick Mahomes - “Lamborghini to a Ferrari”

Former NFL quarterback Carson Palmer explained his controversial take on the Joe Burrow versus Patrick Mahomes debate that got a lot of pushback. The three-time Pro Bowler said on “The Rich Eisen Show”:

“I need to defend myself. I got a lot of riff-raff. I got a little bit of riff-raff. Joe's younger, and he was playing a game. It was during the playoffs. The Bengals were still playing. And Patrick Mahomes hadn't beaten, you know, two teams with one leg back-to-back in the AFC Championship and the Super Bowl. So it was prior to that.”

He added:

“But yes, I was building my fantasy team. I was on my brother's podcast called The Room. And I said I get to pick a quarterback, X receiver, Z receiver, and a tight end. I picked them all from LSU. Almost all LSU and Joe Burrow, Justin Jefferson, Ja’Marr Chase, and Travis Kelce. And that was my if I got to be a GM for the day, those were my picks, and I took a little heat for that, Rich.”

Palmer chose Burrow over Mahomes when he joined his brother, Jordan, in “The QB Room” podcast. The former USC standout said that while Mahomes is phenomenal, Burrow is more accurate and accountable in running the system.

However, he has nothing but praise for Mahomes, who led the Chiefs to victory in Super Bowl LVII. The two-time NFL Most Valuable Player played the game with an injured ankle. Palmer said about the two-time Super Bowl MVP:

“He went on and won the Super Bowl with one leg. Yeah. Okay. So you made me eat my words. Hats off. But at the end of the day, I was comparing a Lamborghini to a Ferrari. If you say anything other than Patrick Mahomes is the greatest player in the history of players, you get roasted for it, and I got roasted. Deservedly so. Like I said, he won a Super Bowl with one foot.”

Joe Burrow leads the head-to-head record against Patrick Mahomes, 3-1. However, they are 1-1 in playoff matchups. Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals came from behind to defeat the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2021 AFC Championship Game. Mahomes and the Chiefs flipped the script in the same game the following year. All four matchups had a three-point margin.

Carson Palmer thinks Joe Burrow deserves to get a massive contract

Aside from putting Joe Burrow in high regard, Palmer also applauded the Bengals’ efforts to build the team around their quarterback. He added:

“They opened up their checkbooks. They redid and rebuilt that offensive line. The year before they went to the Super Bowl, they re-did that entire defense. They went out, spent a ton of money in free agency on the defensive side of the ball."

But the 15-year NFL veteran believes the process won’t be complete without securing Burrow in the long run. Palmer said:

“So, it's really good to have seen them open up their checkbook, make sure they protect Joe. And now, hopefully, they are in the middle of seeking out a way to get a long-term deal done with Joe, and Joe's gotta be really comfortable about signing that next contract in the way that they've revamped in these past two offseasons free-agency wise."

The Bengals exercised their fifth-year option on Joe Burrow, giving the 2021 NFL Comeback Player of the Year a fully-guaranteed $29.5 million in 2024. It also buys them more time to negotiate a new deal, granted that 2023 will be the final year of his rookie-scale contract.