The Bengals announced their 2025 practice squad on Wednesday. It’s mostly comprised of players that the Bengals cut on Tuesday, but there was a somewhat surprising addition.
After being waived by the Minnesota Vikings, quarterback Brett Rypien is now joining the Bengals practice squad, where he’s currently the only quarterback.
Many teams keep at least one quarterback on the 16-man practice squad, and the Bengals are no different, as names like Jake Browning and Logan Woodside have filled that role in recent years.
Rypien, a sixth-year player out of Boise State, was an undrafted free agent signee of the Denver Broncos in 2019. He has played in 10 career games with four starts for the Broncos (2020-22) and the Los Angeles Rams (2023).
For his career, the 6-foot-2, 200-pound Rypien has completed 98/168 passes for 950 yards and four touchdowns with nine interceptions. He also spent time on Seattle’s practice squad and the New York Jets’ active roster during the 2023 season, then spent the entire 2024 season on the Vikings’ practice squad.
The Bengals opted to bring the 29-year-old Rypien in from Minnesota instead of going with an in-house candidate in Desmond Ridder. The former UC Bearcat spent the preseason in Cincinnati, but the 25-year-old QB was woefully inept and is currently a free agent after being waived by the Bengals.
So, for the time being, Rypien is QB3 in the event one of Joe Burrow/Jake Browning gets hurt and the Bengals need another signal-caller on the 53-man roster.