Tom Brady‘s return to New England may see him break a major NFL record.
Brady is currently 1,154 passing yards behind Drew Brees for the NFL’s all-time career record. That means if Brady were to average 289.6 yards per game in 2021 — his average in 2020 — he would break the all-time record in Week Four, when the Buccaneers play at New England on Sunday Night Football.
It’s unknown whether the NFL considered that as a factor when deciding to put the much-anticipated Bucs-Patriots game in Week Four. The league does sometimes factor in the potential for players to break records when it schedules certain games at certain times, but Brady’s return to New England is a huge game regardless of whether the record is on the line.
Brady currently has 79,204 career passing yards. Brees retired with 80,358 career passing yards. Among active players, Ben Roethlisberger is second to Brady with 60,348 passing yards, so once Brady breaks Brees’ record, Brady will own the record for years to come.