Cincinnati Bengals backup quarterback Jake Browning led the team to a come-from-behind win in the fourth quarter of NFL Week 2 against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Paycor Stadium after starting QB Joe Burrow’s toe injury.
But who would relieve Browning in the event of injury? In August, the Bengals announced they signed quarterback Brett Rypien to their practice squad, one day after releasing former Cincinnati Bearcats standout Desmond Ridder.
On Sept. 16, the Bengals announced they signed Rypien off the practice squad to the active roster.
The Bengals are Rypien’s seventh NFL team since the Denver Broncos signed the former Boise State Broncos standout as an undrafted free agent in 2019.
Meet the 6-foot-2, 200-pound Rypien, who turned 29 years old in July:
Rypien has played in 10 regular-season games for two teams, with four starts
Rypien last played in the NFL regular season in 2023 for the Los Angeles Rams. In his only start that season, he had 130 passing yards with an interception in a loss to the Packers in Green Bay.
Rypien’s other three starts came for the Denver Broncos.
In his first NFL regular-season start, Rypien passed for 242 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions in an October 2020 win against the New York Jets.
Rypien also started two games for the Broncos in 2022, losing to the Jets in October and defeating the Arizona Cardinals in December.
Over 10 regular-season games, Rypien has completed 98 of 168 passes for 950 yards, with four TDs with nine INTs.
Rypien has never played in the regular season against the Bengals.
Rypien spent the 2024 season on the Vikings’ practice squad
The Vikings cut Rypien before the NFL’s 53-man roster deadline.
The Chicago Bears signed Rypien in March 2024 but released him in August of that year.
Rypien spent time on Seattle’s practice squad and the New York Jets’ active roster during the 2023 season.
Rypien is the nephew of former NFL quarterback Mark Rypien
Brett and Mark were both multi-sport athletes at Shadle Park High School in Spokane, Washington.
Brett broke Washington state records for career passing yards (13,044), formerly held by ex-Boise State QB and current New Orleans Saints head coach Kellen Moore.
At Boise State, Rypien replaced former Bengals quarterback Ryan Finley
In 2015, Finley was named the Broncos’ starting quarterback, leaving Rypien to redshirt as a freshman. Or so he thought.
In the third game of the season, Finley broke his left ankle. Rypien replaced him, becoming the first true freshman quarterback to play in a game for Boise State since 1993.
Rypien was named Mountain West first-team quarterback as a freshman. Finley, who played in eight games for the Bengals over two seasons in 2019 and 2020, transferred to North Carolina State after the season.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Brett Rypien, backup QB Jake Browning’s backup, signed to Bengals’ active roster
Reporting by Dave Clark, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
