Tom Brady jokes about retirement after rushing milestone: 'Time to ride off into the sunset'

During Sunday's 24-10 win over the Minnesota Vikings, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady reached a milestone he's been working towards for nearly two decades -- 1,000 total rushing yards.

As is tradition with Brady, he took to Instagram after the victory to celebrate.

"The only reason I've been playing 19 years is to get to that 1,000 yards," he said in a clip posted to his account Monday afternoon.

And then, as he climbed into his car, Brady uttered the words that will send chills down the spines of Patriots fans everywhere: "That's it. I'm out. Time to ride off into the sunset."

Of course, the 41-year-old father of three immediately clarified that his statement was in jest. This summer, Brady reiterated his goal of playing in the NFL until he's 45 -- as long as he's "still loving it."

Brady's speed (or lack thereof) has been a point of discussion for his entire career. Video of his 5.28-second 40-yard dash at the 2000 NFL Scouting Combine has been viewed over one million times on YouTube.

Brady's personal quest for 1,000 has also been widely documented. The NFL even honored him with a congratulatory video immediately following the achievement, and the Patriots were quick with a highlight montage of their own on Twitter:

Those 1,000 yards rank Brady at No. 72 among quarterbacks in league history, more than 5,000 yards behind Michael Vick.

See more from Brady's career: