Aaron Rodgers on pace to reach record held only by Brett Favre and Peyton Manning
Aaron Rodgers now has 10 seasons as a starting quarterback under his belt, and this marks the point where people usually start making historical comparisons and career projections.
Rodgers is already a two-time MVP, six-time Pro Bowler and a Super Bowl champion, and at 34, he probably has several good years ahead of him.
With 313 career scores threw the air compared to just 78 picks, Rodgers is the only quarterback in NFL history with a 4:1 touchdown-to-interception ratio (minimum 100 games played).
Just for context, only one other player even has a 3:1 touchdown-to-interception ratio, and that’s Tom Brady.
Rodgers is averaging a little over 31 touchdown passes per season, which is amazing considering that he missed nine games last year and seven games in the 2013 season.
If he’s is able to maintain that pace over the next few years, then he will enter select company on the all-time passing touchdowns list.
Currently, Peyton Manning (539) and Brett Favre (508) are the only quarterbacks in the 500-touchdown club. Rodgers is on pace to reach that mark during the 2023 season, during which he’ll turn 40 years old.
Brady and Drew Brees have each thrown 488 touchdown passes, so they should reach the 500 milestone during the 2018 season, but Rodgers is on pace to do it faster than any of the above four players.
Through his 13 NFL seasons, with 10 coming as a starter, Rodgers has played in 149 games and thrown the aforementioned 313 touchdowns. That’s the most touchdowns thrown by a player through 149 games in NFL history, and it’s 25 more than the next closest player (Hall of Famer Dan Marino).
While Rodgers would seem to have the ability to reach 500 touchdowns, he will also need to have the desire to stick around that long.
The good news for Packers fans is that like Brady and Brees, Rodgers seems to want to play into his 40s.
“I want to play until I’m 40 and beyond,” Rodgers said in April, per the Packers’ official team website. “Many of the guys I’m playing with now will be moving on at that point, if I’m able to keep playing until then. It’s about cultivating the relationships with the young guys, finding what that team chemistry looks like every year — because it changes — and looking forward to the season.”
But he is also aware that while he wants to play for a long time, that doesn’t mean an organization like the Packers wants to keep him around for years to come.
“I think you have to be humble enough to realize if it could happen to Brett, it can happen to you,” he told The Associated Press in February.
“It” would be the Packers deciding to cut ties with their legendary quarterback. Rodgers witnessed that taking place first hand in 2008 when the then 38-year-old Favre was traded to the New York Jets.
Rodgers is under contract with the Packers through the 2019 season, but both sides are working toward an extension that would seemingly allow Rodgers to finish his career in green and gold.
“Both sides are working towards it and we’re confident we’ll come to an agreement soon,” Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said earlier this month on “PFT Live.”
“We’re pretty confident that this is something that’s taking its normal course, its normal time.”
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