Stampede Blue
The Indianapolis Colts are signing quarterback Brett Rypien to their practice squad, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.
The move comes after Indianapolis placed third-year quarterback Anthony Richardson Sr. on injured reserve Monday. According to ESPN’s Stephen Holder, Richardson “was hospitalized after a pole that he had affixed an elastic stretch band to snapped during his pregame routine, resulting in the pole forcefully impacting his face.”
Rypien, 29, was most recently released by the Cincinnati Bengals following the trade for veteran quarterback, Joe Flacco. The Colts initially worked out four different quarterbacks on Tuesday, including Jeff Driskel, Jaren Hall, Tanner Mordecai and Kyle Trask.
Instead of choosing from one of those four, Indianapolis instead opts for Rypien, who has started four total games in the NFL while appearing in 11 games overall. In those 11 games, Rypien has thrown four touchdowns against nine interceptions.
Rypien, an undrafted free agent in 2019, has previously spent time with the aforementioned Bengals, Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Rams.
Rypien is on a short list of experienced veteran quarterbacks available in mid-October. His latest stop will be as part of a Colts’ quarterback room that includes starter Daniel Jones and rookie sixth-round draft pick, Riley Leonard.
Between Rypien and Leonard, it’s unclear which of the two quarterbacks will be the backup to Jones for the time being. Due to the circumstances of Richardson’s injury, Leonard backed up Jones in Indianapolis’ 31-27 win over the Arizona Cardinals Sunday.
With the Colts returning to practice Wednesday, that could give us a better idea of the direction they may go for Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers.
