Tom Brady could break a major NFL record Thursday vs. Ravens that he probably isn’t thrilled to be breaking

Over the course of his 22-year career, Tom Brady has broken dozens of NFL records and he could be adding one more to the list on Thursday night against the Baltimore Ravens, although it’s a record that he would probably prefer not to be breaking. 

If Brady gets sacked just one time against the Ravens, he’ll tie the NFL record for the most times that a quarterback has ever been sacked. The record is currently held by Ben Roethlisberger, who was sacked a total of 554 times during his 18-year career before retiring following the 2021 season. Big Ben actually just set the record last year by topping Brett Favre, who was sacked 525 times during his 20-year career.

The fact that Brady could break the record one year after Roethlisberger set it is somewhat surprising, and that’s because the sack record is one record that usually stands for a while. Favre held the record for 11 seasons before Big Ben topped it. Before Favre, the record was held by John Elway for 12 years. During his 16-year career in Denver (1983-1998), the former Broncos quarterback was sacked a total of 516 times. 

The one thing about this record, though, is that it’s one that comes with longevity. If you’re a quarterback in the NFL, you’re going to get sacked, and if you play for a long time, you’re going to get sacked a lot. 

Of the 18 quarterbacks in NFL history who have been sacked 415 times or more in their career, 14 of them had a career that spanned at least 15 years. Only Drew Bledsoe (sacked 467 times in 14 years), Matt Ryan (sacked 450 times in his first 14 seasons), Matthew Stafford (sacked 432 times and in his 14th season) and Russell Wilson (sacked 447 times and in his 11th year) have taken 400 sacks or more in fewer than 15 seasons. 

The one upside for Brady is that he might not set the record this week. If he doesn’t get sacked at all, he won’t tie Roethlisberger’s record, and that could happen. So far this season, there’s been one game where Brady didn’t get sacked at all. On the flip side, he would have to be sacked two times to set the record, a total he’s hit in three of Tampa Bay’s seven games, which means we could definitely end up seeing history made on Thursday night. 

Although Brady will almost certainly end up breaking the record in the next week or two, he might not hold the mark for more than a couple of years and that’s because there are several players who could end up breaking it. 

The two quarterbacks closest to Brady on the all-time sacks taken list are Aaron Rodgers (513) and Ryan (471), but the player who ends up taking the most sacks could end up being Wilson, who’s on an absurd pace. 

At the rate he’s going, there’s a good chance Wilson is going to end up as the most sacked quarterback of all time. The Broncos signal-caller has been sacked 447 times in 10-and-a-half seasons, which would put him on pace to take more than 600 sacks if he ends up playing JUST 14 YEARS in the NFL (If he played 20 seasons, he would be on track to take 875 sacks). 

Here’s a look at the six quarterbacks who have taken the most sacks in NFL history: 

We included Krieg here because because Ryan could end up passing him. The Colts QB was on pace to take 59 sacks this season and if that happens, he would end the year with 509 for his career, which would make him just the sixth QB in NFL history to be sacked 500 times or more. However, the veteran was just benched for Sam Ehlinger so he probably won’t move up this list, but you never know.

Also, Rodgers is just four sacks away from passing John Elway for the fourth spot on this list, and by the time the season is over, Rodgers will likely have passed Favre to get to No. 3. 

Brady, Wilson, Rodgers, Ryan and Stafford are the only active NFL quarterback who have been sacked at least 380 times.