Drew Brees likely to hit 80,000 career passing yards, an NFL first

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In 2010, when Brett Favre surpassed 70,000 career passing yards in his final season as an NFL quarterback, it seemed like an impossibly high total. In 2020, Drew Brees is likely to top 80,000 career passing yards.

Brees announced today that he will return to the Saints for the 2020 season, and if he has even a mediocre season by his standards, he’ll end up with more than 80,000 yards.

Through the 2019 season Brees has 77,416 career passing yards, so he needs 2,584 passing yards in 2020 to top 80,000. That should be a breeze for Brees. Even last year, when he missed five games with a thumb injury, Brees easily topped that total, with 2,979 passing yards.

Brees is the NFL’s all-time leader in passing yards, and Tom Brady is next with 74,571. Whoever finishes with more passing yards between Brees and Brady will have a record that looks insurmountable. Just like Favre’s record once did.