Matt Ryan is now the NFL’s active passing leader

It’s something that was leaked days ago, but it was made official this week. Tom Brady, arguably the best quarterback in NFL history, retired from the game of football on Tuesday after 22-years in the league. Brady had a long NFL career and essentially led every active passing category by the time he retired.

That all changed on Tuesday when Brady retired and the another quarterback rose on the active passing leaderboards. That quarterback is none other than Atlanta Falcons’ Matt Ryan. Entering the season, Ryan was third behind Brady and Pittsburgh Steelers’ Ben Roethlisberger for the most passing yards among active quarterbacks. Both retired this week, and Ryan now moves to the top with his current stat of 59,735 yards.

Ryan moves up in some other active ranks as well, as he’s now second in passing touchdowns (367) behind Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and first in completions (5,242). Ryan and Rodgers are now two of the few remaining elder statesmen at a position dominated by interesting young talent.

For Ryan though, the numbers will likely keep growing, at least for a few years. Retirement doesn’t seem close for the former league MVP and he appears to be returning to Atlanta for at least another season in 2022. We’ll see where he ends up, not just among active players but all-time.