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Brett Rypien

Seahawks Sign QB Brett Rypien

November 10th, 2023 at 12:23pm CST by Sam Robinson

Although no team claimed Brett Rypien on waivers this week, the veteran backup will rejoin one of his former Broncos QB mates within the Rams’ division. The Seahawks signed Rypien on a practice squad deal Friday.

Rypien will join Geno Smith and Drew Lock in Seattle’s quarterback room. Rypien backed up Lock in Denver, and the two were teammates from 2019-21. The Rams used Rypien as their Week 9 starter, but after the former UDFA struggled in Green Bay, the team decided to bring in Carson Wentz during its bye week.

Rather than demote Rypien, the Rams cut him soon after his start. The Boise State alum had been with the Rams since May, signing nearly two months after Sean Payton preferred Jarrett Stidham as Russell Wilson‘s backup. Rypien, 27, had operated in this role in 2022, staying on after the Broncos included Lock in the blockbuster trade to acquire the decorated passer from the Seahawks.

Lock and Rypien both arrived in Denver in 2019, the former a second-round pick. These two represented the constants in a changing Broncos QB room from 2019-21. The team traded for Joe Flacco to start in 2019, and Brandon Allen replaced the ex-Ravens mainstay due to Lock being injured as a rookie. Rypien received his first start in 2020, replacing Lock, and both were later part of the team’s QB room that ended up unavailable due to statuses as COVID-19 close contacts against the Saints later that season. Rypien resided as the Broncos’ third-stringer behind Teddy Bridgewater and Lock in 2021 but received more playing time last season, starting twice for an injured Wilson.

Against the Packers last week, Rypien completed just 46.4% of his passes and added two lost fumbles to a stat sheet that included an interception. After their 20-3 loss, the Rams decided to upgrade in Matthew Stafford insurance. He and Wentz, 30, are now the only two passers on the Rams’ 53-man roster or practice squad. Rypien averaged just 5.5 yards per attempt in two starts last season, one of which coming against a top-five Jets defense, but helped the Broncos to a late-season win over the Cardinals.

Rookie UDFA Holton Ahlers went to training camp with the Seahawks and ended up bouncing on and off the team’s practice squad during the season. The Seahawks did not dress Ahlers as an emergency third QB on gamedays, with Smith having been durable since being given the keys post-Wilson. After three weeks without a de facto third-stringer, the Seahawks will install Rypien in that role. While the team now has a recent Rams QB ahead of the Seahawks’ Week 11 matchup with them, Seattle already has extensive intel here, seeing as ex-Sean McVay staffer Shane Waldron is aboard as OC.

Rams To Waive QB Brett Rypien

November 7th, 2023 at 2:48pm CST by Sam Robinson

Following the news of the Carson Wentz agreement, the Rams will spend their bye week with just two quarterbacks on their 53-man roster. With Wentz coming in, Brett Rypien will be jettisoned.

The Rams are waiving Rypien, per NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero. The former Broncos backup received the call against the Packers in relief of Matthew Stafford. After a 20-3 Rams loss that featured a poor Rypien performance, the team will have Stafford and Wentz as the QBs on its roster.

After four seasons in Denver, Rypien signed with Los Angeles shortly after the draft. The team had him in mind as a placeholder while Stetson Bennett developed. The 26-year-old rookie, however, landed on the reserve/non-football illness list in September. This left Rypien as the top Stafford backup. With Stafford again needing to miss time due to injury, the Rams were without another option. The Wentz deal will cover them going forward.

Rypien, 27, will be waived despite being a vested veteran. With the trade deadline having passed, all cut players are subject to waivers. Considering the QB trouble around the league, it will be interesting to see if someone picks up the former UDFA. But Rypien struggled in Green Bay, completing 46% of his passes while throwing an interception and fumbling twice. With Bennett out of the picture presently and the team cutting Dresser Winn from its practice squad, a spot could be open for Rypien — should he pass through waivers.

Considering Stafford’s recent injury history and Wentz being new to the team, it should be expected the Rams will carry a practice squad QB. Rypien has made four career starts, replacing Stafford, Russell Wilson and Drew Lock. He posted a 60.2% completion rate last season, throwing two TD passes and four interceptions. The nephew of Super Bowl XXVI MVP Mark Rypien, Brett saw the Broncos give Jarrett Stidham a two-year, $10MM deal to replace him. The Rams have now ended Wentz’s near-eight-month free agency stay to do the same.

After Stafford gave the Rams 21 starts (counting the four postseason outings) in 2021, the Rams have started five QBs over the past two seasons. They turned to John Wolford, Bryce Perkins and Baker Mayfield amid Stafford’s injury-plagued 2022. Stafford made it through eight games this season and is expected to be ready for Week 11, but Wentz would now be in line to run that number to six should the starter need to miss more time.

The Rams attempted to reacquire Wolford by signing him off the Buccaneers’ practice squad last week, but the Florida native cited a desire to stay in Tampa, via the Tampa Bay Times’ Rick Stroud. Although Wolford would not have had a choice had the Bucs not agreed to bump him up to their 53-man roster, the team did, cutting off a QB avenue for the Rams.

In addition to the QB transactions today, the Rams waived running back Myles Gaskin. The former Dolphins and Vikings back played in one game for the Rams, who reconfigured their backfield after the Kyren Williams and Ronnie Rivers injuries. Both must miss at least two more games. Darrell Henderson and Royce Freeman have operated as L.A.’s primary backs since those IR moves came to pass.

Rams QB Matthew Stafford Inactive For Week 9

November 5th, 2023 at 11:59am CST by Rory Parks

Brett Rypien will be the Rams’ starting quarterback in the team’s game against the Packers today, and Matthew Stafford will be inactive. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reported last night that this was the expected outcome, and Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic was among those to confirm that news this morning.

Stafford is dealing with a UCL sprain that he suffered in last week’s loss to the Cowboys. Luckily, the Rams have a Week 10 bye, so the 35-year-old passer will have plenty of time to get healthy before the team takes on the division-rival Seahawks in Week 11.

Although the Rams started the season with a somewhat encouraging 3-3 record, they have dropped both of their past two games and are relying on a former UDFA with three career starts to prevent a three-game skid. Stafford, meanwhile, has not rebounded from a disappointing 2022 campaign as Los Angeles had hoped, as he has completed less than 60% of his passes for eight touchdowns and seven interceptions. That adds up to a subpar 82.0 quarterback rating.

Despite going into last week’s trade deadline with a 3-5 mark, the Rams never shopped any of their high-profile players, a list that includes Stafford. Of course, Stafford’s recent on-field performance and injury problems make his contract — which runs through 2026 and includes a fully-guaranteed base salary of $31MM in 2024 — largely untradeable anyway.

Rypien, whom the Broncos signed as a priority UDFA in 2019, made one start for Denver in 2020 and two more last season. He has gone 2-1 in those outings, though he has thrown just four TDs against eight picks in his pro career.

Rypien joined the Rams on a one-year contract in May. He was released as part of roster cutdowns at the end of August and subsequently joined LA’s taxi squad.

NFL Injury Rumors: Giants, Banks, Stafford

November 3rd, 2023 at 9:22pm CST by Ely Allen

The Giants received some good news with the announcement that starting quarterback Daniel Jones has received clearance to play and is line to start Week 9 in Las Vegas. In the same breath, though, New York was forced into the realization that it will be without Jones’ safety net and security blanket as backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor and tight end Darren Waller will both be absent this weekend and, potentially, longer, according to ESPN’s Jordan Raanan.

Taylor sustained a rib cage injury that knocked him out of last week’s overtime loss to the Jets. Waller is also dealing with some injury trouble concerning his groin and hamstring. Despite the injuries last week, Taylor and Waller led the Giants in passing and receiving, respectively, in the loss, despite only totaling eight yards passing and four yards receiving.

Raanan relayed the report from head coach Brian Daboll, who mentioned that he doesn’t expect either player back any time soon. In fact, the head coach didn’t rule a stint on injured reserve for Taylor or Waller.

Here are a few other injury rumors from around the NFL, starting with a Texans rookie starter:

  • Houston placed rookie center Jarrett Patterson, who had been forced into the starting lineup due to other injuries along the offensive line, on IR on Tuesday. The specifics of Patterson’s injury weren’t reported at the time, but Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 informed us this week that Patterson suffered a broken fibula. After receiving multiple medical opinions, Patterson will avoid surgery but is still expected to miss six to eight weeks.
  • On the second to last drive of last week’s loss to Cincinnati, 49ers starting left guard Aaron Banks suffered a foot injury that he wouldn’t report until finishing the game. Per a report by David Bonilla of 49ers Webzone, head coach Kyle Shanahan communicated that he expects Banks to miss a few weeks with a turf toe injury. “Yeah, with turf toe, you never know,” Shanahan said. “So, they told me it should be a few weeks, is what I got here. I know that’s a little vague, but I would say that means at least three weeks.” Luckily for San Francisco, one of those weeks should include the team’s Week 9 bye.
  • While dealing with a UCL sprain suffered in this past weekend’s loss to Dallas, Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford has been classified as day-to-day. After testing out the thumb injury on Tuesday, Stafford sat out the remainder of this week’s practices, according to Kevin Patra of NFL Network. Still, head coach Sean McVay reported Stafford will be labeled as questionable heading into the Week 9 and will be a game-time decision to play. If Stafford is unavailable on Sunday, backup quarterback Brett Rypien will make the start. Rypien has gone 2-1 in three starts over his first four years in the league but has thrown twice as many interceptions (8) as touchdowns (4). Either way, Los Angeles will leave Sunday headed towards a bye week, allowing Stafford an extra week of rest to potentially return for Week 11.

Aaron Rodgers Does Not Close Door On In-Season Return; Jets Have Not Called 49ers On Sam Darnold

September 15th, 2023 at 10:23pm CST by Sam Robinson

Suffering a ruptured Achilles four plays into his Jets tenure, Aaron Rodgers underwent surgery this week. The four-time MVP was close to retiring before joining the Jets, but he offered a clue into his post-2023 plans shortly after the injury. Early signs point to Rodgers playing in 2024.

[RELATED: Jets Not Planning To Contact Tom Brady]

Rodgers still did not slam the door shut on a question Friday about returning this season, in the event the Jets make the playoffs. While the 39-year-old passer refused to put a timetable on his comeback effort, he included a Kevin Garnett/”anything is possible” reference — in response to a question about coming back in the postseason — during his latest Pat McAfee Show appearance (video link).

“It doesn’t do any good to make prognostications, other than help my own mental state, but yeah, I’m gonna try and push this thing as much as it’ll allow me to,” Rodgers said. “There’s markers I’ve gotta see — where I’m at after a week and two weeks and a month and two months — and then we’ll see what the conversation is from there.”

Players have returned months after Achilles injuries in the not-so-distant past. Terrell Suggs and Michael Crabtree came back from their maladies — in 2012 and 2013, respectively — during the regular season. Of course, the Ravens linebacker and 49ers wide receiver both went down in May. Suggs returned Oct. 21; Crabtree was back Dec. 1. Cam Akers suffered an Achilles tear in July 2021; he returned in time for the Rams’ Week 18 game that season. Of course, Akers was not effective upon coming back that year.

Rodgers is considerably older than this trio at the time of injury, and it would be shocking if he became a realistic candidate to come back this season. It certainly says a lot about his change in mindset upon being traded that he would go from being “90% retired” to considering a radical comeback in the event the Jets made the playoffs — or advanced deep into the postseason.

“Give me the doubts, give me the timetables, give me all the things that you think can, should or will happen, because all I need is that one little extra percent of inspiration,” Rodgers said. “That’s all I need. So, give me your doubts, give me your prognostications and then watch what I do.”

The Jets have not signed a quarterback to fill out their depth chart. Although Zach Wilson underwhelmed to the point the Jets benched him and then charted an aggressive course to add a veteran, the team has attempted to throw its support behind the former No. 2 overall pick as a starter. Ex-Rodgers Packers backup Tim Boyle is in place as Wilson’s backup ahead of Week 2. The Jets have been connected to Colt McCoy, Brett Rypien and the recently retired Chad Henne in the wake of Rodgers’ injury. McCoy remains a free agent, and no indications have emerged Henne would unretire if asked to do so. The Rams bumped Rypien to their 53-man roster to prevent a potential Jets poaching, but CBS Sports’ Josina Anderson indicates Gang Green’s Rypien interest was not believed to be serious.

On another front, John Lynch said Friday (via the San Jose Mercury News’ Can Inman) the 49ers did not receive a call from the Jets on Sam Darnold. With the 49ers trading Trey Lance to the Cowboys last month, trading Darnold back to the Jets would seemingly be a nonstarter for a team that has dealt with a number of QB injuries in recent years. The Jets made the decision to trade their three-year starter in 2021 and draft Wilson in 2021, collecting second-, fourth- and sixth-round picks from the Panthers.

Rams Promote Brett Rypien; Jets Showed Interest In QB

September 14th, 2023 at 2:20pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Aaron Rodgers situation deals a crushing blow to Nathaniel Hackett‘s hopes of an immediate rebound, and the future Hall of Famer’s Achilles tear ended up affecting one of Hackett’s ex-Broncos charges as well.

Multiple players with pasts working for Hackett have come up in the Jets’ search for a veteran reserve option. In addition to Chad Henne, the Jets expressed interest in Brett Rypien, ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler tweets. Rypien began Thursday on the Rams’ practice squad, but the team promoted him to its 53-man roster, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero notes.

[RELATED: Rodgers Responds After Season-Ending Injury]

Rypien, who spent four seasons as a Broncos backup, was already part of the Rams’ gameday contingent in Seattle. But the fifth-year passer was a gameday elevation and was thus returned to the Rams’ taxi squad after Week 1. But the Rams did not want to lose Rypien, with Stetson Bennett now on their reserve/non-football illness list. As such, the Rams signed Rypien to their active roster to prevent the Jets poaching him.

Rypien played for Hackett in 2022 and served as the Broncos’ starter on two occasions, replacing an injured Russell Wilson. Backing up the likes of Joe Flacco, Drew Lock, Teddy Bridgewater and Wilson in Denver, Rypien played an unexpected role in Hackett’s final game as Broncos HC. The former UDFA expressed frustration for Broncos O-linemen not helping Wilson up after knockdowns, which led to then-starting guard Dalton Risner shoving Rypien on the sideline. After the 51-14 loss, Hackett received his walking papers and joined an exclusive club of first-year HCs fired before season’s end.

Matthew Stafford and Rypien are the only QBs on the Rams’ active roster or practice squad. While Henne, Colt McCoy and now Rypien have come up since the Jets began searching for options in the wake of Rodgers’ season-ending injury, they have not signed anyone. Zach Wilson and Tim Boyle are their only QBs as of Thursday afternoon. For the time being, the Jets are not planning to replace Wilson. Despite devoting considerable resources to adding a veteran starter this offseason, the Jets have attempted to express confidence in the underwhelming former No. 2 overall pick.

The Rams added Rypien in May, replacing four-year backup John Wolford. Bennett is viewed as the team’s longer-term backup, but the placement on the reserve/NFI list leaves Rypien as the last man standing behind Stafford. The Broncos replaced Rypien, 27, with Jarrett Stidham in March. Rypien has four career TD passes, eight INTs and has averaged six yards per attempt as a pro. He is 2-1 as a starter.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/9/23

September 9th, 2023 at 6:47pm CST by Ely Allen

We have our first flood of pregame transactions of the season today as teams across the league with games tomorrow utilize their two permitted practice squad elevations:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Chicago Bears

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

  • Promoted from practice squad: LB Brevin Allen

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

  • Promoted from practice squad: RB Myles Gaskin, OLB Benton Whitley

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

Wednesday NFL Transactions: NFC West

August 30th, 2023 at 3:27pm CST by Sam Robinson

Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline Tuesday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters. In addition to waiver claims, teams can begin constructing their 16-man practice squads today. These 49ers, Cardinals, Rams and Seahawks moves are noted below.

Arizona Cardinals

Claimed:

Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

Los Angeles Rams

Claimed:

Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

San Francisco 49ers

Placed on IR:

Signed: 

Claimed:

Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

Seattle Seahawks

Claimed:

Waived:

Signed to practice squad: 

Rams Cut Down To 53 Players

August 29th, 2023 at 9:44pm CST by Ely Allen

The Rams did a bit of work yesterday in moving towards the 53-man deadline. Here are the additional moves the team made today to get down to the max roster number to start the season:

Waived:

Waived/injured:

Released:

It appears that fourth-round rookie draft pick Stetson Bennett won out in the battle for the backup quarterback job, leading to the expendability of Rypien and Winn. Youth similarly won out at the running back spot as rookie Zach Evans and second year backs Kyren Williams and Ronnie Rivers beat out the veteran backup in Freeman. On defense, Copeland is bit of a surprise after starting nine games last year for the Rams.

The special teams room is quite intriguing for now. The room was looking to hold three rookies before the above waiver of the undrafted Oklahoma State kicker Brown. Seventh-round rookie punter Ethan Evans and undrafted rookie long snapper Alex Ward remain on the roster, but without Brown, the Rams will need to look into adding a new kicker out of the free agent market. Or they may attempt to follow the recent trends and trade for one.

Rams To Add QB Brett Rypien

May 3rd, 2023 at 5:48pm CST by Sam Robinson

Wednesday’s flurry of signings will continue, and the Rams will use this post-draft free agency window to add a backup quarterback. They are signing former Broncos backup Brett Rypien, Mike Klis of 9News tweets.

A former UDFA, Rypien had spent his entire career in Denver. He will head to Los Angeles on a one-year deal. The Rams used a fifth-round pick on two-time national championship-winning QB Stetson Bennett, but Rypien will provide the team with more experience behind Matthew Stafford.

The Rams have not brought back John Wolford, their QB2 for much of Sean McVay‘s tenure, and the team nontendered Bryce Perkins as an RFA in March. Rypien and Bennett represent the Rams’ Stafford reserves for the moment. The team has also agreed to terms with UDFA arm Winn Dresser, who played at Tennessee-Martin.

Part of the Broncos’ list of starting QBs between Peyton Manning and Russell Wilson, Rypien made two starts for an injured Wilson last season as well. He piloted the Broncos to a December win over the Cardinals, which came two months after the struggling team could not topple the Jets in Rypien’s other 2022 start. Rypien threw two touchdown passes and four interceptions last season, completing 60.2% of his passes.

For his career, Rypien has made three starts. He quarterbacked the Broncos to a win over the Jets during the 2020 season but ended up the team’s third-stringer in 2021, behind Teddy Bridgewater and Drew Lock. Although the Broncos signed Josh Johnson, Rypien relegated the journeyman extraordinaire to the practice squad after winning the QB2 gig in training camp. The Broncos have since signed Jarrett Stidham to back up Wilson, signaling Rypien would need to move on to continue his career.

The Rams will give him that opportunity. Brett Rypien, the nephew of former Super Bowl MVP Mark Rypien, made an interesting decision during the Broncos’ seminal Christmas Day loss in L.A., criticizing Denver’s offensive linemen for not helping Wilson from the turf. That internal strife, which featured a sideline shoving match between Rypien and then-Broncos guard Dalton Risner, helped seal Nathaniel Hackett‘s fate after the Rams’ blowout win.

The Rams were on their fourth QB that day, but the team’s Baker Mayfield partnership proved short-lived. With Wolford and Perkins gone, Rypien will have a chance to be the Rams’ top backup. Considering Stafford’s injury trouble last season, that is a rather important post.

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