Bill Belichick Chimes in on Tom Brady Reaching 100,000 Career Passing Yards
Tom Brady entered unprecedented territory in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers‘ season-saving win over the LA Rams on Sunday, becoming the first NFL quarterback to surpass 100,000 career passing yards.
The vast majority of those, of course, came during Brady’s 20-year run with the New England Patriots. And his former head coach, Bill Belichick, has chimed in on his former quarterback’s historic accomplishment.
Bill Belichick chimes in on Tom Brady reaching 100,000 career passing yards
Belichick famously drafted Brady with the 199th overall pick in the 2000 NFL Draft with the plan for the Michigan man to be the backup to Drew Bledsoe, who was already a three-time Pro Bowler and was just months away from signing what, at the time, was the richest contract in league history.
Of course, we all know how things played out. Bledsoe was injured two games into the 2001 season, and Brady stepped in to lead New England to its first-ever Super Bowl victory. Bledsoe was shipped to Buffalo, and Brady and Belichick won five more titles together before TB12 took his talents to Tampa Bay in 2020.
In his 20 seasons with Belichick, Brady threw for 85,959 yards, 74,571 in 327 regular-season games, and 11,388 in 41 postseason appearances. In two and a half seasons with the Bucs, he’s tacked on an additional 14,157 yards, 12,496 in 42 regular-season games, and 1,661 in six playoff contests, including his seventh Super Bowl win following the 2020 campaign.
That brings his grand total to 100,116 yards, which is simply astounding. And Belichick agrees as he shared his thoughts on “The Greg Hill Show” on WEEI on Monday morning.
“That’s a tremendous accomplishment by Tom and a real credit to everything about him. His longevity, his accuracy, consistency. Just doing so many things right in the passing game for so long.
“It’s a phenomenal accomplishment. I’m really happy for him. Nobody deserves it more than he does. He’s worked extremely hard and is just very good at what he does. That’s an amazing stat. I don’t even know how far 100,000 yards is. It must be a long way. I don’t know how many miles. I have no idea. But that’s a great accomplishment.”
Bill Belichick on Tom Brady
For those wondering, 100,000 yards is a shade under 57 miles.
And speaking of wondering, one still has to wonder if Belichick regrets pushing Brady out of New England, given the issues he’s had at quarterback since TB12 left town.
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