EAGAN, Minn. – The Vikings have made a change to their quarterbacks room.
Minnesota signed QB Brett Rypien, the team announced Wednesday, and in turn waived 2023 draft pick Jaren Hall.
Rypien comes to the Vikings after being part of the Bears Tuesday roster cuts. He joins Sam Darnold and Nick Mullens in Minnesota's QBs room after first-round pick J.J. McCarthy suffered a season-ending knee injury in his preseason debut.
The 28-year-old signed with Chicago in March and spent the 2024 offseason with the NFC North rival. Rypien shined in the Hall of Fame Game Aug. 1 before inclement weather cut the contest a quarter-plus short. He threw three touchdown passes, leading the Bears to a 21-17 victory over the Texans, and finished 11-of-15 passing for 166 passing yards.
Rypien initially was signed by Denver as an undrafted rookie in 2019 and was with the Broncos for his first four NFL seasons. He played against the Vikings almost exactly two years ago in a preseason game at Denver, during which he was 14-of-21 passing for 137 yards and an interception.
Rypien was overlapped in Denver with members of the Vikings current offensive coaching staff, including running game coordinator/running backs coach Curtis Modkins and offensive line coach Chris Kuper.
In 2023, he was on the Rams active roster from Sept. 13 to Nov. 7 and then was waived; he went on to spend time on the Seahawks and Jets practice squads that season.
In 10 NFL games (four starts), Rypien is 98-of-168 passing for 950 yards, four touchdowns and nine interceptions.
Here are five things to know about the Vikings new quarterback.
1. Nephew of Super Bowl MVP
Rypien's uncle is Mark Rypien, who was named Super Bowl XXVI MVP after helping Washington defeat Buffalo 37-24 on Jan. 26, 1992.
Interestingly, that Super Bowl was hosted at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.
Mark Rypien played 14 seasons in the NFL and was a two-time Super Bowl Champion (he also helped Washington to a Super Bowl XXII win over the Broncos), twice named a Second-Team All-Pro by The Associated Press and received two Pro Bowl nods (1989 and 1991).
2. Former Boise State standout
Rypien attended Boise State, his first time being a Bronco, and finished his collegiate career as the Mountain West's all-time leader in passing yards (13,581), completions (1,036) and 300-yard passing games (21). He also became Boise State's all-time leader in 300-yard games when he passed Kellen Moore, who had 16 such games from 2008-11.
Rypien was named the 2018 Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year. In 2017, he earned Mountain West Championship Offensive MVP honors after throwing for 256 yards (long of 59) in a win over Fresno State. He went on that to then rack up 362 passing yards and two touchdowns against Oregon in the Las Vegas Bowl.
3. Hails from Washington
Rypien grew up in Spokane, Washington, where he attended Shadle Park High School and played both baseball and football.
He played quarterback all four years for the Shadle varsity football team and set Washington state records for career passing yards (13,044) and pass completions (1,006), as well as single-season records for passing yards (4,552) and touchdowns (50), surpassing Moore in all four categories.
Rypien graduated early and earned valedictorian honors.
Fun fact: Rypien shares an alma mater with Terry Davis, an award-winning American novelist and professor emeritus of English at Minnesota State University, Mankato, where he taught fiction writing, screenwriting and adolescent literature.
4. Athletic bloodline
Brett and Mark Rypien aren't the only ones in the family who have stood out athletically.
Another one of Brett's uncles, Wes, was a Canadian boxing champion. His older son and Brett's cousin, Wes Jr., played professionally in the Western Hockey League, and his younger son Rick played six seasons for the NHL's Vancouver Canucks before tragically passing away in 2011.
Shane Churla, another cousin, played 11 seasons in the NHL and went on to work as a scout with the Montreal Canadiens.
Brett's father Tim was drafted by the Montreal Expos in the 1982 MLB June Amateur Draft and played three seasons in the minor leagues.
5. Mental health advocate
As noted above, Rypien's cousin Rick passed away after six seasons in the NHL, taking his own life after a hard-fought battle with clinical depression.
Rypien was 15 years old when Rick died at age 27. Rypien has become a mental health advocate, noting that "at some point or another, everyone goes through their own struggle with mental health."
In 2020, Rypien represented Mental Health America for the NFL's My Cause My Cleats campaign, donning kicks that had "Break the Stigma" stenciled on one cleat and Rick's jersey No. 37 on the other.
