Vikings Re-Sign Familiar Quarterback for 2025
The offseason arrived for the Minnesota Vikings late Monday night after a sorrowful loss in the postseason to the Los Angeles Rams.
Vikings Re-Sign Familiar Quarterback for 2025
Minnesota won 14 games in the regular season but sharply regressed when it mattered the most.
So, Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah began offseason operations sooner than most hoped, and one of his first orders of business involved re-signing quarterback Brett Rypien.
Rypien served as the Vikings’ QB3 behind Sam Darnold and Nick Mullens for most of the regular season, although he received a practice squad demotion to QB4 when Daniel Jones was elevated to emergency quarterback for the brief postseason trip.
If you’re keeping track at home, these are Minnesota’s quarterbacks on the books for 2025:
- J.J. McCarthy
- Brett Rypien
Darnold, Mullens, and Jones are scheduled to hit open free agency if Adofo-Mensah doesn’t re-sign one or some before mid-March.
The Vikings actually waived Rypien right before the playoffs to make room for Jones on the active roster but quickly re-signed him to the practice squad. His new “futures” deal ensures he’ll be a part of the equation, at least for the early part of the offseason.
Minnesota originally discovered Rypien late last summer when they waived second-year signal-caller Jaren Hall. Hall later joined the Seattle Seahawks, serving as QB3 behind Geno Smith and Sam Howell this season.
Here’s Rypien’s NFL resume to date:
- Denver Broncos (2019–2022)
- Los Angeles Rams (2023)
- Seattle Seahawks (2023)
- New York Jets (2023)
- Chicago Bears (2024)
- Minnesota Vikings (2024-present)
The nephew of former NFL quarterback Mark Rypien, Brett has appeared in 10 NFL games, starting 4 and tallying 950 passing yards, 4 touchdown passes, and 9 interceptions since 2019. He’s known for footwork and accuracy, while his arm strength and mobility have been considered weaknesses dating back to the 2019 NFL Draft’s lead-up.
Head coach Kevin O’Connell said about Rypien in November, “I think Brett Rypien has done a lot of really good things since he’s come in here, smart, true pro’s pro, and think I gave him my third or fourth team player of the week award this morning, so he’s had a positive impact.”
If Rypien sticks around until the summer, he’ll likely be in the mix to compete for QB2 or QB3. It’s also unknown if Adofo-Mensah will re-up with Darnold, who flopped in the season’s final two games. That will be one of the top offseason agenda items until it’s resolved.
Rypien will turn 29 in July.
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Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL.
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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