Texans To Release QB Brett Rypien

Rypien is being released, per CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz. This does not necessarily mean Rypien is done in Houston, as the team could slide him to its practice squad without waiver involvement (since Rypien is a vested veteran). But the Texans could also look around for a different QB3 between now and Week 1.

The 2019 Broncos UDFA has made stops with nine NFL teams. While Rypien has only made four career starts since entering the league out of Boise State, he has also included the Rams, Seahawks, Jets, Bears, Vikings, Bengals and Colts during his NFL journey. Rypien reunited with ex-Rams assistant Nick Caley in Houston.

Rypien’s past with Caley in Los Angeles should give him a reasonable chance to stick around on Houston’s P-squad, though it will be worth monitoring if another team dangles a second- or third-string opportunity. Considering Rypien did not sign with the Texans until mid-August, teams don’t appear to be flooding his agent with offers. The Texans will go into a fourth season with C.J. Stroud and Davis Mills headlining their QB depth chart.

With the Texans placing Mertz on IR this month, Stroud and Mills will be the only QBs on the active roster following this Rypien release. Teams that carry two QBs on their active roster almost always have a third on the P-squad. Rypien, 30, started a game for the Broncos in 2020 and then two more — in place of an injured Russell Wilson — in 2022. The Rams brought him in for a start in place of Matthew Stafford in 2023 but moved on soon after, signing Carson Wentz, after a rough outing in Green Bay.