For first time in recent memory for many Chicago Bears fans, the presason did not have quarterback controversy.
Upon drafting Caleb Williams with the first overall selection in the 2024 NFL Draft, the Bears anointed Williams as the starting quarterback. The Bears did not have the weirdness of past rookie quarterback experiences, where for both Mitch Trubisky and Justin Fields, the team added bridge quarterbacks to muddy the waters about their respective developments.
The Bears have learned from those repeated mistakes, as Williams was always the unquestioned starting quarterback, with Tyson Bagent as his backup. Beyond Bagent, the Bears also added Brett Rypien as the veteran arm in Training Camp to go along with Austin Reed as a potential developmental quarterback.
Rypien shined in the Bears' Hall of Fame game against the Houston Texans to open the preseason and while it was always clear that he was not competing with Bagent to be the backup quarterback, there was speculation that he could serve as the emergency quarterback on the team's practice squad.
Instead, it was Reed who won the quarterback spot on the practice squad. It seems like one of the reasons why Reed may have got the spot on the Bears' practice squad is because Rypien had a line on a spot on another team's 53-man roster.
The Minnesota Vikings announced on Thursday that they have signed Rypien to a one-year deal. The veteran will be on the team's 53-man roster to open the season.
The #Vikings have signed QB Brett Rypien and waived QB Jaren Hall. pic.twitter.com/8o6ygjYFMn
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) August 29, 2024
Brett Rypien finds himself a roster spot in the NFC North.
The Vikings are in a true transition year at the quarterback position, with Kirk Cousins now leading the Atlanta Falcons' offense and rookie quarterback JJ McCarthy out for the season with a torn meniscus. Sam Darnold will open the season as the Vikings' starting quarterback, but perhaps Rypien sees game action later in the season due to injury or ineffectiveness.