Who Should I Start? Brett Rypien or Sam Hartman

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).

Tuesday, January 28, 7:19 PM

The Washington Commanders announced on Tuesday that they signed quarterback Sam Hartman, running back Kazmeir Allen, defensive tackle Viliami Fehoko Jr., guard Julian Good-Jones, tight ends Tyree Jackson and Cole Turner, defensive end Andre Jones Jr., wide receiver Chris Moore and safety Ben Nikkel to Reserve/Futures deals. Hartman went undrafted in 2024 but eventually latched on with the Commanders for training camp. The 25-year-old signal-caller didn't make the 53-man active roster for the start of the regular season but did spend time on the active roster later in the season when backup Marcus Mariota landed on Injured Reserve. However, Hartman never saw action in a regular season game and is still looking to make his NFL debut. With Mariota set to become a free agent in March, the Commanders have opted to bring Hartman back as QB insurance this offseason.