Patrick Mahomes’ trainer has delivered a withering response to NFL legend Ben Roethlisberger after he made a recent bold claim about the Kansas City Chiefs star.

Roethlisberger, a two-time Super Bowl winner with the Pittsburgh Steelers, recently claimed he would prefer to have Aaron Rodgers in his prime to Mahomes.

‘Big Ben’ was discussing his former team’s move for Rodgers, who last month signed a one-year, $13.65million deal to be Mike Tomlin’s starting quarterback next season.

But while giving his reasoning, Roethlisberger also appeared to suggest Mahomes was no longer in the prime of his career. The Chiefs quarterback turns 30 later this year.

‘Well, I would take Aaron and his prime over Patrick now,’ he said on his podcast, “Footbahlin”.

‘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.’

Those comments did not go down well with trainer Bobby Stroupe, who has been working with Mahomes since he was nine.

Responding to a post on X that carried Roethlisberger’s quotes, Stroupe wrote: ‘Not everybody quits working out at 30 years old, Ben.’

In writing that, Stroupe appears to be suggesting that Roethlisberger was not in prime condition during the latter stages of his successful career.

And he may have a point. Mahomes has plenty of years left on the football field and is quickly rising up the quarterback ‘GOAT’ list after shining in recent years.

The Chiefs star, who is just 29, has been to five Super Bowls already in his career and won three – compared to Rodgers’ single title claimed at Super Bowl XLV.

Stroupe and Mahomes train four to five days a week during the NFL offseason with sessions varying in length from more than four hours to 90 minutes, time allowing.

The fitness guru also rushed to Mahomes’ defense during last year’s offseason when fans were trolling him after pictures of his ‘dad bod’ went viral after the playoffs.

‘I’ll be the first to tell you that I think an NFL quarterback should have at least 14 per cent body fat,’ Stroupe said at the time.

‘It’s not from an unhealthy standpoint, but from a force absorption standpoint. You have to be able to take contact.

‘We know there’s just not a lot of quarterbacks in the Hall of Fame that have a six-pack and there’s a reason for that.

‘We’ve got to find that fine line of performance and health. And the aesthetic part is a different conversation.’

‘I don’t need him to look like a model because the way he chooses to play requires a certain type of physicality, and that physicality needs more body fat,’ Stroupe added.

‘That is a core belief that I do have for him.’