Former Broncos QB Gets Another Chance With Super Bowl Contender

The NFL can seem like a cruel, transactional place. When it boils down to it, it’s about business, and learning to roll with the punches can extend your career by years.

That’s the lesson to take away from former Denver Broncos starting quarterback Brett Rypien’s journeyman career, which took another turn this week when he was released from the Minnesota Vikings after spending the whole season on the roster only to be signed to the practice squad two days later.

From Vikings.com: “The Vikings on Thursday announced the signing of quarterback Brett Rypien to their practice squad, as well as the signing of offensive lineman Trevor Reid. Rypien spent the regular season on Minnesota’s 53-man roster after joining the Vikings just before September. He was placed on waivers and cleared them this week, enabling Minnesota to sign him to the practice squad. As part of placing Rypien, who has quarterbacked Minnesota’s scout team at practices, on waivers, the Vikings signed veteran Daniel Jones from their practice squad to the 53-man roster.”

Rypien has spent the entire season as the Vikings’ third emergency quarterback behind Pro Bowler Sam Darnold and backup Nick Mullens, but according to a report from ESPN’s Kevin Seifert on January 9, Jones may have thrown a kink into that pecking order ahead of Minnesota’s NFC Wild Card Game against the Los Angeles Rams on January 13.

Jones was a former first-round pick for the New York Giants who was released late in the season and had been cooling his heels on Minnesota’s practice squad.

The Vikings signed Jones this week to their 53-man roster, where he joined Darnold and No. 2 quarterback Nick Mullens after a six-week stint on the team’s practice squad.

“Mullens was Darnold’s backup for the entire regular season,” Seifert wrote. “Darnold started all 17 games, but Mullens appeared in relief four times. Speaking to local reporters Thursday, coach Kevin O’Connell twice declined to say if Mullens or Jones would be Darnold’s backup Monday night against the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC’s wild-card round.”

Looking Back on Rypien’s Time as Starter in Denver

Rypien, the nephew of Super Bowl-winning quarterback Mark Rypien, was a 4-time All-MWC selection at Boise State and the MWC Offensive Player of the Year before going undrafted in 2019.

Rypien threw for 13,581 yards, 90 touchdowns and 29 interceptions in college and eventually made the Broncos as an undrafted free agent. Rypien lasted 4 seasons with the Broncos, going 1-2 as a starter. After being released by the Broncos following the 2022 season, he spent 2023 with the Rams, Seattle Seahawks and New York Jets before finding a home with the Vikings in 2024.

Rypien is 2-2 as an NFL starter with 950 passing yards, 4 touchdowns and 9 interceptions along with a staggering 7 fumbles.

Vikings Went From No. 1 Seed to No. 5 Seed

The Vikings went from the No. 1 seed to the No. 5 seed  in the NFC Playoffs with a loss to the Detroit Lions in the regular-season finale —forcing them to hit the road to face the Rams.

As of January 9 — 4 days before the game — the NFL had a contingency plan in place to move the game to Glendale, Arizona, if necessary and due to The Palisades Fire, which had consumed roughly 45 square miles and forced 180,000 people to evacuate the area.