Former Chicago Bears quarterback Brett Rypien is re-signing with the Minnesota Vikings for the 2024 NFL playoffs, but the 28-year-old’s standing on the depth chart has shifted ahead of their wild-card game against the Los Angeles Rams.
The Vikings officially re-signed Rypien to their practice squad on Thursday, January 9, two days after waiving him from their 53-man roster and promoting former New York Giants first-round pick Daniel Jones from the practice squad to replace him as their No. 3 quarterback. Rypien will now become the fourth quarterback in the pecking order.
Rypien competed with Bears backup quarterback Tyson Bagent and rookie Austin Reed — their No. 3 quarterback for the 2024 season — during the team’s 2024 training camp but could not secure one of the two roster spots behind rookie starter Caleb Williams.
Ultimately, Rypien found a place with the Vikings and spent the season as the third-string/scout-team quarterback behind starter Sam Darnold and backup Nick Mullens. He remained in that role until January 7 when the Vikings swapped him with Jones.
The Vikings — though, likely without Rypien active — will still face the Rams in the wild-card round of the playoffs at 8 p.m. ET on Monday, January 13; however, the NFL has moved the game to Arizona with wildfires still raging in the original site of L.A.
Brett Rypien Had Strong 2024 Preseason for Bears
The Bears have employed plenty of forgettable quarterbacks, but Rypien at least made a modest impression during his limited showing for the team in the 2024 NFL preseason.
Rypien torched the Houston Texans in the Hall of Fame Game for the Bears’ preseason opener, completing 11 of his 15 passes for 166 yards and three touchdowns and looking like he could potentially pose a veteran threat to Bagent’s backup job. While the Bears played him less over the next three games, he remained crisp and went 13-of-19 passing for another 169 yards and finished the preseason without throwing an interception.
Reed, however, offered a compelling counterpoint to Rypien’s roster contention. The undrafted rookie completed 12 of 16 passes for 122 yards and a touchdown in his three preseason performances while Pro Football Focus deemed that pass-catchers dropped two of his four completions. He also earned PFF’s second-best passing grade (79.3) among rookie quarterbacks behind only Vikings rookie J.J. McCarthy before his injury.
In the end, the Bears chose Reed’s youth and upside over Rypien’s veteran presence.
Will Bears’ Next Coach Keep Tyson Bagent as Backup QB?
The Bears are not expected to make any significant quarterback moves during the 2025 offseason. Williams is under contract for at least the next three seasons — plus his fifth-year option in 2028 — and his backup, Bagent, has another year left on his UDFA deal.
That said, things could change if the Bears’ next head coach does not have the same affinity for Bagent and wants to shake things up at the backup spot behind Williams.
Let’s say the Bears hire an offensive-minded head coach for the 2025 season. It is not unreasonable to think he might look to bring in a veteran backup quarterback — one with whom he has some familiarity — to mentor and motivate Williams as his backup. Even if the Bears do not sign one of the pricier veterans, they could indulge their next head coach and find someone more capable than their past attempts, such as Rypien.
Then again, Bagent has shown good development for the Bears over his first two years even though he did not play any meaningful snaps behind a healthy Williams in 2024. A new coach could recognize his untapped potential or at least give him a fair shot to earn his backup job again in 2025.
The Bears will also have affordable ways to keep Bagent beyond 2025 if he remains the backup. While his undrafted rookie deal will technically expire after the 2025 season, he will become a restricted free agent during the 2026 offseason, giving the Bears options. Most realistically, they would place a right-of-first-refusal tender on him, which would allow them to match an outside offer or otherwise keep him at a reasonable price.
For now, though, it depends on whether Bagent can impress his next head coach.
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