Most Rushing Yards by a Quarterback (Career)

Lamar Jackson holds the record for the most career rushing yards by a quarterback, having passed Michael Vick during the 2024 season. As an active player, Jackson keeps adding to the mark, so the record grows every year he plays. Vick’s 6,109 yards had stood as the benchmark since his career ended in 2015.

The record tracks a specific kind of quarterback: the one who runs by design, not just to escape trouble. That style was rare enough that Vick’s total lasted nearly a decade before Jackson, built around the same threat, ran past it. Here is the career list, how Jackson overtook Vick, and why this is one of the few NFL records still on the move.

Career rushing yards by a quarterback

The all-time leaders, through the 2024 season. Lamar Jackson is active, so his total continues to rise.

Rank	Quarterback	Career rushing yards	Status
1	Lamar Jackson	6,100+	Active
2	Michael Vick	6,109	Retired
3	Cam Newton	5,628	Retired
4	Randall Cunningham	4,928	Retired
5	Russell Wilson	4,900+	Active
6	Steve Young	4,239	Retired
7	Fran Tarkenton	3,674	Retired

Jackson and Vick sit almost level at the top, which is why the record changed hands mid-season rather than by a wide margin. Two of the seven are still active in Jackson and Russell Wilson, so the list is not yet settled.

How Jackson passed Vick

Michael Vick’s 6,109 rushing yards looked like a record that might stand for a long time, because so few quarterbacks run enough to threaten it. Lamar Jackson changed that. Building on 1,000-yard rushing seasons and a career built around read-option runs, he closed the gap fast and moved past Vick during the 2024 campaign.

The overtaking was close because the two totals were so near. What separates them now is that Jackson is still playing. Every game he adds to a record Vick can no longer defend, and Jackson also owns the single-season quarterback rushing record with 1,206 yards in 2019.

Vick: the record-holder who redefined the position

Even in second place, Vick’s mark is historically important. He was the first quarterback to rush for 1,000 yards in a season, with 1,039 in 2006, a figure that reset expectations for what a mobile passer could do on the ground.

His 6,109 career yards came despite a stretch away from the game, which is part of why the total stood so long. Vick made the running quarterback a genuine strategic weapon rather than a novelty, and Jackson’s game is in many ways the next step from it.

The pocket passers who still ran

Not every name on the list is a designed runner. Steve Young rushed for 4,239 career yards and Fran Tarkenton for 3,674, both high totals for quarterbacks better known for passing. Young in particular scrambled with intent, and his rushing touchdown record for a quarterback stood for years.

Their presence shows the record is not only about read-option offenses. A quarterback who moves well and picks his moments can bank thousands of rushing yards over a long career without ever being labelled a runner. For the all-position version of this list, see the most rushing yards of all time.

Why this record keeps moving

Most career records belong to retired players and sit frozen. This one does not, because its holder is active and runs often. Barring injury, Jackson is likely to extend the mark well past 6,000, and the nearest active challengers, Jalen Hurts and Josh Allen among them, are thousands of yards behind.

That makes the quarterback rushing record a moving target in a way few NFL records are. The number to know today may be out of date by the end of next season.

To see the passers who won titles rather than rushing yards, read the most Super Bowl wins by a quarterback, or test whether you can name the league’s stars in our game Guess the NFL Player. Vick set the mark; Jackson broke it and is still running.