Broncos Make Final Decision on Starting QB Against Jets: Report

Russell Wilson and Brett Rypien

Getty Broncos quarterbacks Russell Wilson and Brett Rypien running out of the tunnel before a game.

After suffering a hamstring injury in Week 6 against the Los Angeles Chargers, Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson has been listed as questionable all week.

During practices this week, Wilson was listed as questionable and considered a game-time decision, according to Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett.

Backup quarterback Brett Rypien took all of the first-team reps during the team’s walk-through practice Wednesday, most of them Thursday and split them with Wilson on Friday, per Mike Klis of 9News in Denver.

With Wilson trying in every way to play, ESPN’s NFL insider Adam Schefter reported that Rypien will get the start against the New York Jets in Week 7.

Schefter also mentioned that Hackett wants Wilson to heal and prevent a lingering injury that could keep him out even longer.

Denver will re-evaluate Wilson’s injury next week and decide whether he can play next week against the Jacksonville Jaguars in London on Sunday morning.


Russell Wilson Has Struggled in 2022

Nobody thought that Wilson and the Broncos would be the laughing stock of the NFL with a 2-4 record.

Through the first six weeks of the season, Wilson has quarterbacked the Broncos to the worst scoring offense in the NFL at 15.2 points per game. Denver is also the worst red zone scoring team in the league scoring touchdowns just 20% of the time.

Wilson is also off to the worst start of his career with just 5 touchdown passes and 3 interceptions through six games. The former Super Bowl-winning quarterback has only completed 58.6% of his passes, while his worst completion percentage in Seattle was just over 61%.

Every week, Broncos Country has been hopeful that the next game is the game in which Wilson and the Denver offense will finally click and become the elite offense everyone expected them to be. Even on Monday night against the Chargers, Wilson started the game off with 10 straight completions for 116 yards and a touchdown that went to rookie tight end Greg Dulcich, but then things fell apart.

After Wilson’s amazing start, he completed just five more passes on 18 attempts for just 72 yards.

It’s not just Wilson’s injury that has hurt the team this season, but it’s when he can’t read the defense properly.

ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky broke it down the day after Denver’s loss to Los Angeles and said that Wilson and the offense are not even doing the basic things right now.

Because of his struggles, Wilson currently ranks 25th in the NFL in QBR with a 35.8 rating.


Brett Rypien’s History as a Starter

Rypien has one start in his young career and coincidently it was against the Jets. During that game, Rypien completed 61.2% of his passes for 242 yards and 2 touchdowns. Even though Rypien threw three interceptions, the Denver offense still put up 37 points to beat the Jets by nine points.

It’s fair to say that if the Broncos need to rest Wilson for a game, they’ll have a solid backup plan against a Jets team with a 4-2 overall record.

Rypien won the backup job during training camp and preseason after he beat out veteran quarterback Josh Johnson.

The former Boise St. Bronco showed flashes in training camp and was the most consistent quarterback of the two in the preseason completing 67.6% of his passes for 441 yards and a touchdown.