The Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed veteran quarterback Brett Rypien to their practice squad following Baker Mayfield's injury that will keep him sidelined for a minimum of three weeks.
Tampa Bay named undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels as their starting quarterback in Mayfield's absence, but the only other quarterback on the roster was Easton Stick, so Rypien will provide some much-needed depth to the QB room.
Bucs are signing veteran QB Brett Rypien to their practice squad, giving them a third healthy quarterback while Baker Mayfield is sidelined. He played for Rams in 2023 when Zac Robinson was the QBs coach there, so has some familiarity with the offense.
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) September 29, 2026
Tampa Bay Buccaneers sign Brett Rypien for quarterback depth
Head coach Todd Bowles said on Monday that the team would explore veteran quarterback options to potentially add to the practice squad, and just a day later, the Buccaneers made their move.
Rypien has been in the NFL since 2019, when he signed with the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent. He's started four games with a 2-2 record, and has appeared in a total of 11 regular season games.
In his last NFL start for the Los Angeles Rams in 2023, Rypien finished 13-of-28 for 130 yards and an interception in a 20-3 loss to the Green Bay Packers. At the time, Zac Robinson was the passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach for Los Angeles, so the Bucs offensive coordinator has experience working with Rypien.
Rypien has completed 58.3% of his pass attempts along with four touchdowns and nine interceptions. While his individual stastics aren't exactly inspiring, it's his experience around the NFL and in a variety of different offensive systems that will be an asset for the Buccaneers on the practice squad. If he sees a single snap of game action, it means something went terribly wrong.
Rypien has had stints with the Denver Broncos, Los Angeles Rams, Indianapolis Colts, Minnesota Vikings, and Cincinatti Bengals.
Daniels is the guy for now, but it's important to have a veteran voice like Rypien who has seen it all and can provide support as the rookie makes the difficult jump to the pro level. His start in Week 4 will be the earliest in NFL history that an undrafted rookie has been given the starting nod.
Having a quarterback room of Daniels, Stick and Rypien by Week 4 isn't exactly what the Buccaneers had in mind entering the season, but all Tampa Bay can do is make the most out of the cards they've been dealt.
The Buccaneers are already 0-3 and the season is all but over if Daniels doesn't lead them to an improbable win in his first career game. Only one team in NFL history has made the playoffs after an 0-4 start, so the odds will be stacked against Tampa Bay, to say the least.
Rypien isn't going to have any tangible impact on the win-loss result, but at the very least, he'll provide an extra arm at practice and some knowledge of the playbook to the QB room.
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