Nov 3, 2019; Kansas City, MO, USA; A general view of a Minnesota Vikings helmet during the game against the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
That didn’t take long.
The Minnesota Vikings re-signed quarterback Brett Rypien on Thursday, two days after releasing the veteran QB3. Rypien will rejoin the purple practice squad.
The Vikings’ social media team tweeted, “The Vikings have signed QB Brett Rypien to the practice squad. OL Trevor Reid has been signed to a Reserve/Future free agent contract.”
So, heading into the postseason, a date with the Los Angeles Rams on Monday night, Minnesota will showcase this quarterback room:
General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah dropped Rypien on Tuesday to make room for Jones on the 53-man roster. The move was strategic because the franchise will receive compensatory pick consideration if Jones leaves in free agency two months from now due to his active roster status.
Rypien can reasonably be classified as Minnesota’s QB4 entering the postseason.
The Vikings 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.
Until Tuesday, Rypien filled the QB3 role for the 2024 Vikings, a job now owned by Jones, at least for the next few weeks.
Here’s Rypien’s NFL resume to date:
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.”
Minnesota is a 1.5-point road favorite this week to topple the Rams, a squad it lost to in October. Los Angeles defeated the Vikings 30-20 at SoFi Stadium in Week 8, which featured a missed facemask call that the whole world — even non-Vikings fans — deemed egregious.
Rypien will be a fascinating name to monitor in the offseason, potentially on deck to compete for a QB2 or QB3 job with the 2025 Vikings.
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 MIN 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.