Who Should I Start? Brett Rypien or Will Howard

Tuesday, October 14, 7:41 PM

Veteran free-agent quarterback Brett Rypien signed with the Indianapolis Colts' practice squad on Tuesday, a source told Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. Anthony Richardson Sr. (eye) suffered a fractured orbital bone before Sunday's win over the Arizona Cardinals when a resistance band snapped and hit him in the face. With Richardson expected to be out multiple weeks, the Colts placed him on Injured Reserve on Monday, meaning he will be out at least four games. Rypien will give the Colts added QB insurance behind starter Daniel Jones and new No. 2 Riley Leonard. The 29-year-old was with the Minnesota Vikings in training camp before joining the Cincinnati Bengals. He played three offensive snaps with Cincy but was cut after the Bengals acquired veteran QB Joe Flacco in a trade. Rypien has completed 58.3% of his pass attempts for 950 passing yards, four touchdowns, and nine interceptions in 11 career games (four starts) since entering the league in 2020 with the Denver Broncos.

Monday, September 1, 11:37 PM

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Will Howard (hand) remains in line to operate as the team's No. 3 quarterback once he's healthy enough to play. For now, Howard will miss the first four games of the regular season after being placed on injured reserve. However, once Pittsburgh activates him, he should replace Skylar Thompson as the third-string quarterback behind veterans Aaron Rodgers and Mason Rudolph. Howard had an impressive senior season at Ohio State as he completed 73 percent of his passes for 4,010 yards, 35 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions while leading the Buckeyes to a national title. Howard didn't get into a preseason game, so Pittsburgh would truly need to have a quarterback emergency for the rookie to play a snap this season. However, plenty of teams have been forced to play or even start their third-string quarterback before, so we can't rule out Howard getting some reps when he's eventually activated in Week 5 or later.