For almost 20 years, the Pittsburgh Steelers were lucky enough to have Ben Roethlisberger playing quarterback. Roethlisberger is one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history, and he’ll find himself in the Pro Football Hall of Fame one day. Now, they are employing another all-time great signal caller in Aaron Rodgers. Ironically enough, Rodgers has the chance to pass Roethlisberger on the all-time passing yard leaders list this season.
In fact, Roethlisberger is expecting it — and is fine with it.
“Aaron’s gonna pass my all-time passing record this year,” Roethlisberger said Wednesday on his Footbahlin’ with Ben Roethlisberger podcast. “Good. Records are meant to be broken.”
Roethlisberger retired with 64,088 passing yards, which currently stands as the fifth-most in NFL history. The only people above him are Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, and Brett Favre.
However, Rodgers is hot on his tail with 62,952 passing yards. That’s seventh-most in league history, so Rodgers will have to pass Philip Rivers first before he overtakes Roethlisberger. Based on how he played last year, Rodgers should easily pass both quarterbacks.
In 2024, Rodgers threw for 3,897 yards. When healthy, he’s normally thrown for around 4,000 yards each season. Sitting less than 2,000 yards behind Roethlisberger, the only question is if Rodgers’ body can hold up over an entire season. He probably would’ve already passed Roethlisberger if he hadn’t torn his Achilles to start the 2023 season.
While that Achilles tear seems to be behind him, Rodgers is still 41 years old. At that age, most quarterbacks’ bodies start to break down. There were reports that Rodgers dealt with several different injuries last year. Hopefully, that isn’t the case this year.
Unless Rodgers has a season straight out of a video game, passing Roethlisberger is likely as high as he’ll get on the all-time passing yards list. Favre would be next up, and he retired with 71,838 passing yards. That’s out of reach for Rodgers, who stated that this will likely be his final season in the NFL.
While he might not be able to pass his former teammate in Favre, Rodgers has a chance to cement his legacy even further. Rather than go out on a down note, Rodgers could prove his doubters wrong, putting together one last great season. Breaking Roethlisberger’s record as a member of the Steelers should be fun, too. It speaks to just how incredible Rodgers has been in his career.
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