Matthew Stafford’s race to 50,000 passing yards almost over

The LA Rams are not just going for the win in their Thursday Night Football opener against the Buffalo Bills. Veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford is currently the 12th-ranked NFL quarterback in terms of All-Time Career Passing Yards.

Right now, he has thrown for 49,995 yards. He is just five yards away from matching now retired New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees from crossing that 50,000-yard plateau in just 183 games. That is the fewest games in NFL history.

The Rams hurler will likely match that feat in the first offensive series against the Buffalo Bills. But realistically, how far will Stafford climb in the rankings this season?

With a good ballpark estimate at plus or minus 5000 yards passing, Matthew Stafford should leap past 11th-ranked Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway around or before the Rams BYE week in Week 7. The next quarterback on the list is 10th-ranked Aaron Rodgers, who threw for 4415 yards in 2021, increasing his career total to 55,360 yards.

Next on the list is 9th-ranked Eli Manning, who threw for 57,023 yards in his career. As long as Matthew Stafford stays healthy, that mark will likely be in Stafford’s sights for 2023. And that’s the key to Stafford improving his ranking. He has already passed many incredible NFL quarterbacks who played much longer careers to get to their totals. Stafford is clearly far more productive on a year-by-year basis.

If he can remain healthy in the LA Rams offense for the next three years, he could add nearly another 15,000 yards to his totals, and that would place him within striking distance of a Top-5 NFL All-Time career passing ranking. He simply needs to keep throwing, stay healthy, and hope that Aaron Rodgers, Matt Ryan, and Tom Brady choose to retire.

That’s all.