Getty Brett Rypien gets hit by Morgan Fox on August 24, 2019 in Los Angeles.
The Los Angeles Rams addressed the quarterback position one more time on Wednesday, May 3. And this time, they’re adding the nephew of a past Super Bowl Most Valuable Player.
Brett Rypien is signing a one-year deal with the Rams, first reported by Mike Klis of 9News in Denver. He’s not only a former Denver Broncos quarterback and backup to Russell Wilson, but his uncle is Super Bowl 26 MVP Mark Rypien — who led Washington to its last Vince Lombardi Trophy in 1992.
“Brett Rypien passed his physical with Rams today and will work out with team tomorrow. Rypien figures to compete with 4th-round rookie Stetson Bennett for Rams No. 2 QB job behind Matthew Stafford. Rypien was 2-1 in his 3 starts for Broncos,” Klis added.
Rypien’s Last NFL Pass Was in SoFi Stadium
This time, Rypien will likely be hoping for a better experience inside SoFi Stadium.
His last NFL pass he threw was inside the “Rams House” on Christmas Day 2022 — best known as the 51-14 drubbing at the hands of the Rams. He not only went 4-of-8 for 45 yards and threw one interception, but he was involved in this temper flaring moment during the game with guard Dalton Risner:
Tempers flare between Risner/Rypien on the sideline this afternoon at SoFi @MaseDenver
Now, Rypien has found an NFL home before his former offensive lineman teammate, who remains an unsigned free agent.
Rypien did not play in the Broncos’ final two games after the Rams rout. That was also after head coach Nathaniel Hackett was fired before completing his first season in Denver.
For the season, Rypien finished with 53 completions out of 88 attempts for 483 yards. He ended up with more interceptions (four) than touchdowns (two). He completed 60.23% of his passes.
Rypien played all three of his NFL seasons in Denver. He went 2-1 overall as a starter and went 80-of-130 for 778 yards, four touchdowns, eight interceptions and was sacked nine times (eight in 2022). He also finished with a completion percentage of 61.5 in Denver.
He previously played for another Broncos: Boise State. While on the blue turf, he racked up 13,578 yards with 90 touchdowns and 29 interceptions per Sports Reference. He guided Boise State to the 2017 season Mountain West Conference title.
Were Teams High on Stetson Bennett?
Meanwhile, as Rypien gets ready to enter a QB room that now features Stetson Bennett, there’s the new report via Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic on Wednesday detailing that some within the Rams organization felt teams “were pretending they weren’t as high on Bennett as they really were.”
However, it turned out Bennett was at the top of general manager Les Snead’s wish list on day three of the draft, when Bennett was taken.
“Former Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett was at the top of Snead’s list. The offensive staff liked him. The defensive staff especially liked him — whoever the Rams brought in as backup to Stafford would also run a live scout team against the first-team defense. That player would have to be capable of developing as a quarterback while at the same time being enough of a competitor to challenge and thus help develop a very young defense,” Rodrigue wrote.
The Rams insider added how there was a feeling from one person involved in evaluating Bennett that he wouldn’t be available to the Rams, giving that person “a pit in his stomach.”
But the rest is history. Bennett is heading to the Rams and will join a fellow Georgia Bulldog in Stafford and now has Rypien on board.