Denver Broncos: 5 players who disappointed in win over Vikings

3. Brett Rypien, QB

Ultimately, if the Denver Broncos end up needing Brett Rypien to play in 2021, the season should just be written off anyway.

Nothing against Rypien, but he’s clearly not in the competition or on the same level as Drew Lock and Teddy Bridgewater at that point.

With that being said, this is Rypien’s third season with the Denver Broncos. He did get a start in 2020 and looked pretty solid for a good chunk of it.

Given his experience and time in the league, it’s not unreasonable to expect Rypien to be out there tearing it up against some of the Vikings’ future practice squad additions.

These are still NFL guys he’s competing against, but Rypien finished with a disappointing 2-of-7 passing for just 24 yards. One of his best throws on the day was a well-placed deep ball to Branden Mack that was simply not reeled in.

Even considering that solid throw, Rypien’s very next pass was way behind the receiver on a simple slant pattern.

At this point, Rypien should be expected to be a consistent performer against fellow third-string guys, and he simply didn’t have the juice against Minnesota. The Broncos didn’t punt the ball a single time until Rypien entered the game, at which point the scoring stopped and the punts started coming.