Perhaps desperate, Nathaniel Hackett turns to old Broncos friend
Dec 5, 2023, 11:31 AM | Updated: Dec 6, 2023, 7:24 am
The whistle-stop odyssey of Brett Rypien continued apace Tuesday. And once again, it put the former Broncos backup quarterback back in someplace with a degree of familiarity.
The New York Jets plucked Rypien from the Seattle Seahawks’ practice squad on Tuesday, reuniting him with his former Broncos head coach, Nathaniel Hackett. Rypien started two games in relief of Russell Wilson for Hackett in Denver last year; the Broncos split the two contests.
Rypien played four seasons for the Broncos, splitting time between the team’s 53-player roster and its practice squad. In addition to his 2022 starting assignments, Rypien started in 2020 against the New York Jets. He guided the Broncos to a 37-28 win that ended the team’s 0-3 start to that campaign.
Denver declined to bring back Brett Rypien in the offseason, opting for Jarrett Stidham as the No. 2 QB.
Hackett now serves as the Jets’ offensive coordinator, and the results have been unspectacular, to put it mildly. New York’s offense has accounted for one or fewer touchdowns in 10 of 12 games, never recovering from the Week 1 loss of Aaron Rodgers to a torn Achilles tendon.
Hackett turned to Zach Wilson for most of the season. But the Jets benched him in a Week 11 loss to the Buffalo Bills. They subsequently turned to Tim Boyle, but he struggled, and the Jets relieved him with former Broncos starter Trevor Siemian last Sunday.
The plot took another twist Monday when The Athletic reported that Wilson was reluctant to return to starting duties, noting that the 2021 No. 2 overall NFL Draft pick “remained apprehensive due to perceived injury risk, per team sources.”
Into that fog steps Rypien, who is on his third team in the last several weeks. Rypien began the season with the Los Angeles Rams, working in a familiar scheme to the one in which he operated as a rookie in 2019 and again under Hackett in 2022. But after a poor start in relief work against Green Bay on Nov. 5, the Rams released him. Seattle signed him to its practice squad, reuniting Rypien with Drew Lock, the understudy to Geno Smith.
Now, Brett Rypien moves on — and once again finds something or someone he knows awaiting him.
BEYOND BRETT RYPIEN, WHERE ARE RECENT BRONCOS QUARTERBACKS NOW?
- Brandon Allen (2019): Backup, San Francisco
- Teddy Bridgewater (2021): Backup, Detroit
- Jeff Driskel (2020): Practice squad, Arizona
- Joe Flacco (2019): Started for Cleveland in Week 13
- Chad Kelly (2017-18): Most Outstanding Player in the CFL, Toronto Argonauts
- Drew Lock (2019-21): Backup, Seattle
- Brock Osweiler (2012-15): College-football analyst, ESPN
- Trevor Siemian (2015-17): Active roster, New York Jets; replaced Tim Boyle in Week 13
