Idaho ties in the NFL: Denver assistant coach praises Rypien as ‘tough, competitive’
Former Boise State quarterback Brett Rypien and the rest of the Denver Broncos’ 2019 rookie class have their first practice of training camp Thursday at the UCHealth Training Center in Englewood, Colorado.
Rypien is one of four quarterbacks listed on the Broncos’ 90-man preseason roster, which will be cut to 53 on Aug. 31 — the same day his former Boise State teammates take on Florida State at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville, Florida.
Denver and Atlanta open the 2019 NFL preseason schedule with the annual Hall of Fame Game on Aug. 1 in Canton, Ohio (6 p.m. MT, NBC). It will be the first of five preseason opportunities Rypien will have to show the Denver front office what he can do.
Veteran Joe Flacco is expected to be the Broncos’ starting quarterback this season, and 2019 second-round pick Drew Lock of Missouri is predicted to serve as backup.
That leaves Rypien and fourth-year QB Kevin Hogan to duke it out for the potential third QB spot on the roster. However, Lock has not yet signed his rookie contract, according to multiple reports.
“Will the Broncos keep a third quarterback on the 53-man roster?” wrote Travis Wakeman of BroncosWire.com. “If the answer to that question is yes, then Rypien has probably the best chance of any undrafted free agent on the roster to make the team.
“All he would have to do is outperform Hogan, who is with his fourth NFL team. For his career, Hogan has completed 59.4 percent of his passes and thrown four touchdowns with seven interceptions.”
Both the Denver Post and MileHighReport.com predict Rypien will land on Denver’s practice squad.
“This was a very deep draft class because there were a lot of guys that started a lot of games. I just value that greatly,” Denver offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello told BroncosWire.com in May. “I think you can evaluate a person and what they’re made of and how they play the game. Brett had those same qualities (as Lock). He was tough, he was competitive and he played in a very good program.
“They coach their guys very well at Boise, and he did a lot of great things. He started a lot of games. It’s very easy to evaluate that. I think he has the type of personality, like Drew and like all of the guys in that room, competitive and they have the mind for it. They’re processors. I think that’s what it takes in this league.”
Rypien signed with Denver as an undrafted free agent following a Boise State career in which he became the Mountain West’s all-time leading passer and No. 13 in FBS history with 13,581 passing yards.
Rypien is one of 34 players with Idaho ties currently on an NFL roster as the preseason begins.
BOISE STATE
LB, Kamalei Correa, No. 44 Tennessee Titans
DL, Tyrone Crawford, No. 98 Dallas Cowboys
CB, Donte Deayon, No. 27 Los Angeles Rams
QB, Ryan Finley, No. 5 Cincinnati Bengals
C, Marcus Henry, No. 61 New Orleans Saints
S, George Iloka, No. 20 Dallas Cowboys
DE, DeMarcus Lawrence, No. 90 Dallas Cowboys
OL, Charles Leno Jr., No. 72 Chicago Bears
RB, Doug Martin, No. 22 Oakland Raiders
RB, Alexander Mattison, No. 25 Minnesota Vikings
RB, Jeremy McNichols, No. 30 Tennessee Titans
DE, Durrant Miles, No. 48 Atlanta Falcons
WR, Sean Modster, No. 14 Baltimore Ravens
OL, Rees Odhiambo, No. 63 Arizona Cardinals
C, Matt Paradis (Council High), No. 61 Carolina Panthers
WR, A.J. Richardson, No. 83 Arizona Cardinals
QB, Brett Rypien, No. 4 Denver Broncos
CB, Orlando Scandrick, No. 45 Philadelphia Eagles
CB, Jamar Taylor, No. 8 Seattle Seahawks
S, Darian Thompson, No. 23 Dallas Cowboys
ILB, Tanner Vallejo, No. 48 Arizona Cardinals
LB, Leighton Vander Esch (Salmon River High), No. 55 Dallas Cowboys
WR, Cedrick Wilson, No. 16 Dallas Cowboys
DL, Billy Winn, No. 90 Denver Broncos
IDAHO
G/T, Jesse Davis, No. 77 Miami Dolphins
LB, Kaden Elliss, No. 55 New Orleans Saints
G, Mike Iupati, No. 70 Seattle Seahawks
DE, Benson Mayowa, No. 91 Oakland Raiders
RB, Elijhaa Penny, No. 39 New York Giants
IDAHO STATE
T, Brian Fineanganofo, No. 67 Cleveland Browns
TE, Josh Hill (Blackfoot High), No. 89 New Orleans Saints
OL, Evan Smith, No. 62 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
HIGH SCHOOLS
DL, Eric Cotton (Columbia High), No. 59 Green Bay Packers
OLB, Porter Gustin (Emmett High), No. 58 New Orleans Saints
QB, Taysom Hill (Highland High), No. 7 New Orleans Saints
OL, Hugh Thornton (Boise/Mountain View High), No. 69 Washington Redskins
Notes: Running back Jay Ajayi (Boise State) is currently a free agent. … Free agent quarterback Brock Osweiler was born in Coeur d’Alene.
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This story was originally published July 16, 2019 at 4:19 PM.
