Plenty went wrong for the Houston Texans in their preseason opener against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Not only were they outscored by 20 points, but they also lost third-string quarterback Graham Mertz for the rest of the season with a torn ACL.
In response to Mertz’s injury, the Texans signed veteran Brett Rypien as the new third-string quarterback. Rypien has been in the NFL since 2020 and has played for many teams, including the Denver Broncos, Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals.
Despite being in the league for seven-plus years, he has only played in 11 regular-season games.
Rypien has not found much success in his time in the league. In 11 games, he’s thrown nine interceptions to just four touchdowns and hasn’t completed a scoring drive since 2022 during his time with Denver.
Nonetheless, Texans coach DeMeco Ryans is not concerned about the quarterback depth given his history and familiarity with Houston’s offense.
“Brett has played in this league; he’s done a really good job,” Rypien said. “He’s won a couple of games in his league, so he has the experience. I’m not worried about that from an evaluation standpoint. His track record has proven that he can go in. He’s a smart guy, picked up the offense already, done a great job with the plays that we’ve given him. There are no worries there at all.”
Houston’s preseason game this coming Thursday against the Las Vegas Raiders will most likely be Rypien’s debut in a Texans jersey.
However, that will be after starting quarterback C.J. Stroud and backup quarterback Davis Mills see time on the field since Ryans has indicated that healthy starters will play in this game.
Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Texans Wire: DeMeco Ryans pleased with new Texans QB Brett Rypien’s role with offense
Reporting by Ariana Pensy, Texans Wire / Texans Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Ariana Pensy, Texans Wire | USA TODAY Network
