Buccaneers Sign New Quarterback Before Packers Game

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers added veteran quarterback Brett Rypien to the practice squad Tuesday after he visited the team’s facility, giving the club extra depth while starter Baker Mayfield recovers from a dislocated thumb.

Rypien, 30, becomes the latest journeyman passer to land in Tampa Bay as the Buccaneers try to stabilize a quarterback room that suddenly looks thin. The move was first reported by Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times.

Mayfield suffered the injury on his throwing hand late in Sunday’s 23-16 home loss to the Minnesota Vikings. An MRI on Monday showed no fracture and no damage to ligaments or tendons. Coach Todd Bowles said Mayfield will miss a minimum of three weeks and is expected to remain on the 53-man roster rather than injured reserve for now.

The Buccaneers are 0-3 after losses to Cincinnati, Cleveland and Minnesota. They host the Green Bay Packers on Sunday in Week 4.

Undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels, who took over for the final snaps against Minnesota and went 0-for-3 with an interception, is slated to make his first NFL start against Green Bay. Daniels won the backup job in training camp over veteran Jake Browning.

The team is expected to sign Easton Stick from the practice squad to the active roster so he can serve as Daniels’ primary backup. Stick, 30, has appeared in six NFL games, all with the Los Angeles Chargers, and went 0-4 as a starter in 2023. He has completed 111 of 174 passes for 1,129 yards, three touchdowns and one interception in his career.

Bowles previewed the need for another quarterback during his Monday news conference.

“Either a veteran or a practice squad one in that span,” Bowles said. “We’ll go with Jalon, and we’ll go play, and we’ll see what’s out there that we can bring in to help out on the practice squad or help out on the team.”

Rypien spent part of the 2023 season with the Los Angeles Rams when current Buccaneers offensive coordinator Zac Robinson was the team’s quarterbacks coach. That familiarity with Robinson’s terminology is one reason Tampa Bay brought him in so quickly.

The nephew of Super Bowl XXVI MVP Mark Rypien, Brett Rypien starred at Boise State from 2015 to 2018. He threw for 13,581 yards and 90 touchdowns in college and was named Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year as a senior. He went undrafted in 2019 and signed with the Denver Broncos.

Rypien has now been with 10 NFL organizations. He has appeared in 11 regular-season games for the Broncos, Rams and Cincinnati Bengals, starting four of them and posting a 2-2 record as a starter.

His career passing line stands at 98 completions on 168 attempts for 950 yards, four touchdowns and nine interceptions. That works out to a 58.3 percent completion rate and a 59.9 passer rating. He also has 21 rushing yards on 14 carries.

His first NFL pass attempts came against the Buccaneers in 2020 while he was with Denver. He last saw meaningful snaps with the Rams in 2023, when he completed 18 of 38 passes for 172 yards, no touchdowns and one interception in two games.

Tampa Bay’s next three games after Green Bay are at Dallas, at home against Pittsburgh and at Carolina. If Mayfield’s recovery follows the current three-week timeline, he could be available for the Oct. 25 game against the Panthers.

Rypien’s role for now is to give the coaching staff another experienced arm in practice while Daniels prepares for his first start and Stick handles the active-roster backup duties. The Buccaneers had entered the season with only two quarterbacks on the 53-man roster, a decision that looked riskier after Mayfield’s injury ended his long streak of consecutive starts in Tampa Bay.

Practice squad quarterbacks can be elevated for game days if needed, so Rypien remains a possible emergency option if further injuries or ineffectiveness force another change.