Who Should I Start? Brett Rypien or Desmond Ridder

Thursday, August 29, 1:14 PM

The Minnesota Vikings signed veteran quarterback Brett Rypien on Thursday and waived Jaren Hall in a corresponding move. It's a mild surprise after Hall seemingly cemented the job as the QB3 behind starter Sam Darnold and backup Nick Mullens with a strong preseason. The 28-year-old Rypien was released earlier this week by the Chicago Bears. He spent the first four seasons of his career with the Denver Broncos, starting three games, before moving to the Los Angeles Rams last year. The Vikings were hit with tough news earlier in training camp with rookie first-rounder J.J. McCarthy (knee) having to miss all of his rookie season. In his four years in the NFL, Rypien has completed 58.3% of his 168 pass attempts for just 950 yards, four touchdowns and nine interceptions in 10 games (four starts).

Sunday, July 20, 1:53 PM

Former Atlanta Falcons starting quarterback Desmond Ridder is signing an undisclosed deal with the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, per the NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. Ridder will bring some experience to the Bengals' QB room behind starter Joe Burrow. The 25-year-old Ridder will join backups Jake Browning and Logan Woodside. He was originally a third-rounder by Atlanta in 2022 out of Cincinnati. Ridder made 17 starts in Atlanta in his first two years in the NFL before being traded to the Arizona Cardinals in 2024. He then appeared in six games with the Las Vegas Raiders in 2024 before joining the Bengals this summer. In three NFL seasons, Ridder has completed 63.6% of his pass attempts for 4,002 yards, 16 touchdowns and 14 interceptions in 25 games (18 starts). He will not be a lock to make the 53-man roster out of training camp.