It’s official. Denver’s starting quarterback on Thursday night will be Mark Rypien.
That’s what coach Vic Fangio initially said at his Tuesday press conference before correcting himself. It’s not Mark, the Super Bowl XXVI MVP. It’s Brett, Mark’s nephew.
Undrafted in 2019 out of Boise State, Rypien becomes the latest in a Clevelandesque line of quarterbacks to start since the retirement of Peyton Manning. Although the Broncos have found a potential franchise quarterback in Drew Lock, Lock is injured. And the options behind Lock are limited, especially since the Broncos continue to refuse to consider giving Colin Kaepernick a look-see.
So, frankly, they get what they deserve: A trio of guys in Rypien, Driskel, and Blake Bortles who simply aren’t good enough. One of them necessarily will have to be good enough to play on Thursday night.
We’ll likely address this topic tomorrow morning on PFT Live. Join us at at 7:00 a.m. ET, when I’ll be joined as usual by Phil Simms.