Getty Bears QB Brett Rypien played well in the Hall of Fame game.
The Chicago Bears have quite the competition going on in their quarterbacks room, particularly after Brett Rypien’s performance in the Hall of Fame game on August 1.
The Bears signed Rypien, 28, to compete with Tyson Bagent for QB2 behind rookie Caleb Williams. Bagent, who served as the team’s backup in 2023, is the front-runner to win the job again. But some — including former Bears backup quarterback Chase Daniel — aren’t so sure Bagent will beat Rypien out.
The Bears held on to a 21-17 victory over the Houston Texans, with the game getting cancelled with 3:31 left in the third quarter due to inclement weather. Rypien finished with an impressive stat line: 11-15 for 166 yards, three touchdowns and a rating of 148.9.
“How we feeling about Tyson Bagent as QB2 in Chicago??” Daniel wrote on X, adding: “I told yall…don’t sleep on Brett Rypien.”
Bears’ Backup QB Job Turning Into Intriguing Competition Between Tyson Bagent & Brett Rypien
Rypien led impressive touchdown drives of 80 and 72 yards in the preseason win over the Texans, throwing a 20-yard score to wide receiver Collin Johnson and a 22-yard TD to tight end Tommy Sweeney. As you can see in the comment above, Daniel, who was with the Bears in 2018 and 2019, thinks the Bears have a legit QB2 competition going on.
Rypien entered the league as an undrafted free agent in 2020. He spent his first three seasons with the Denver Broncos before heading to Los Angeles to play for the Rams for a lone year in 2023. Over his four seasons in the NFL, he has started four games, going 2-2 in those starts.
His most recent start was last season with L.A., where he played poorly in a 20-3 loss to the Green Bay Packers, completing just 13 of 28 passes for 130 yards and an interception. Rypien says that loss in particular stuck with him.
“This one meant a lot to me,” Rypien said after the Hall of Fame victory. “I had a bad taste in my mouth all offseason after my last start in Green Bay. I didn’t know how this season would go, didn’t know if I’d get a chance to compete for anything.”
If he continues to play the way he did against Houston, the Bears may have quite the decision on their hands.
Other QB-Needy Teams Likely Taking Note of Bears’ Current Situation
Brett Rypien threw this dime to Collin Johnson and followed up with a TD soon after.
Rypien’s looked GOOD today. He’s been throwing some darts out there.
As it stands, Bagent and Rypien are both listed as QB2 on the team’s depth chart. Bagent played just one series against the Texans, going 2-3 for 16 yards. Using him sparingly is an indicator he’s still the team’s top backup behind Williams, but things can change very quickly in the NFL.
Bagent started four games for the Bears as a rookie in 2023, going .500 in those matchups. But Bagent is still familiarizing himself with first-year offensive coordinator Shane Waldron’s offense, while Rypien played in a similar system with the Rams last year. That experience can’t hurt.
“For fringe guys like Rypien, these are often the moments in which they can carve out another year or two in the NFL as a backup, thanks to just enough quality tape to tempt a QB-needy team,” NFL.com’s Nick Shook wrote on August 2.
“As a backup, you have to be ready at any moment,” Rypien added. “You never know when that opportunity is going to come. You have to go in and execute.”
With both Bagent and Rypien playing well, the Bears could have worse problems. We’ll see how the remaining three preseason games shake out.
