With injured quarterback J.J. McCarthy set to miss Week 17, the Vikings are welcoming Brett Rypien back to the organization. They claimed Rypien off waivers from the Colts on Tuesday, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com reports.
Rypien will quickly land on his feet just one day after the Colts waived him. The 29-year-old spent two-plus months with the Colts, but he didn’t see any game action as a member of the organization.
After Daniel Jones tore his Achilles in Week 14, Indianapolis shockingly brought Philip Rivers, 44, out of retirement. Rivers has started two straight games since then (and will keep the reins in Week 17), while rookie sixth-rounder Riley Leonard has backed him up.
Since going undrafted out of Boise State in 2019, Rypien has spent time with eight NFL franchises. That includes a run with the Vikings from August 2024 through last summer.
The Vikings elected to enter this season with McCarthy, Carson Wentz, and Max Brosmer as their top three QBs, leaving Rypien as the odd man out. He caught on with the Bengals after the Vikings released him. While Rypien appeared in one game with Cincinnati, he hasn’t attempted a pass this season.
Over 17 games and six starts in the NFL, Rypien has completed 58.3% of passes with 5.7 yards per attempt, four touchdowns, nine interceptions, and a 59.9 rating. Those aren’t impressive numbers, but Rypien will give the Vikings a second healthy QB option for this week’s game against the Lions. McCarthy will miss at least one game with a hairline fracture in his right hand, and Wentz is unavailable after suffering a season-ending shoulder injury in October. Brosmer, an undrafted rookie, will make his second career start on Sunday.
This was the one the Colts should have claimed.
Im fairness to Grandpa Rivers – hes been better than expected, but it was always a prayer.
Reading is fundamental.
Thank you cool guy.
Appreciate it.
The Colts were the ones who released him. They weren’t going to claim him… Separately, Netflix got itself a disaster this year for Christmas. All four teams were expected to be contenders after last year. Now the only team with a remote chance at the postseason is the Lions. Commanders and Vikings will both have third string quarterbacks. Cowboys were eliminated.
Vikings should have tried to sign Clayton Tune off the Packers PS, just because.
I can 100% guarantee that Brosmer is NOT starting for the Vikings this Sunday.
Minnesota hosts Detroit on Christmas Day.
Incidentally, this is the second time today that PFR has gotten the schedule wrong. Doesn’t anybody bother to proofread copy before hitting “publish”?