Buccaneers Quarterback Sets Undesirable Record

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady has set countless amazing records in his incomparable career, but he probably would have been happy to leave this one to someone else. After being dropped twice in the first half of his Thursday Night Football matchup with the Baltimore Ravens, Brady set a new record for sacks in a career with 555.

@ESPNStatsInfo: With the sack at 1:03 of the 2nd quarter, Tom Brady is now the most sacked QB in NFL history (555). He was sacked on back-to-back plays, both by Justin Houston. Ben Roethlisberger held the record previously.
— Ed Werder (@WerderEdESPN) October 28, 2022

Former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger held the previous record with 554. He accomplished the feat in 249 games. It took Brady 326 appearances to exceed him.

More than anything, the record is another indication of Brady's astonishing longevity. In truth, Brady has been a spectacular avoider of sacks. He has been taken down for a loss on a mere 4.55% of his dropbacks for his career entering tonight, which ranks eighth-best among qualifying quarterbacks since sacks became an official statistic in 1982. For his career, Roethlisberger was sacked on 6.2% of his dropbacks. Before Roethlisberger, Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre held the total sack record, and he went down on 4.9% of his dropbacks.

Among active players, Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers sports the next most sacks with 513 in his 220 appearances. Given his career rate of 6.5%, he'll have a great shot to break the record should he play long enough. Assuming Brady does indeed retire at some point.