INDIANAPOLIS – The colors and logo must have made Brett Rypien feel right at home.
When he was roughly 10 and starting to get interested in watching the NFL, Rypien’s favorite team happened to be his current team.
That would be the Indianapolis Colts.
“My mom actually sent me a picture the other day of back in the ’06 Super Bowl against the Bears,’’ Rypien said Thursday afternoon, recalling the Colts’ 29-17 win over Chicago in Super Bowl XLI. “I had a bunch of Colts face paint on and stuff. Kind of a cool moment for me to be here.’’
His uncle, Mark Rypien, was Peyton Manning’s backup in 2001.
“I’m still trying to dig up some dirt on my uncle from guys that have been around here for a while,’’ Rypien said.
Rypien’s in Indy after being signed to the practice squad on Wednesday. The move was necessitated by Anthony Richardson Sr. suffering a fractured orbital bone in an eye during a pre-game warmup prior to last Sunday’s win over the Arizona Cardinals.
Rookie Riley Leonard again will step in as Daniel Jones’ backup for Sunday’s road test at the Los Angeles Chargers, but Rypien eventually might be elevated to No. 2 once he gets a strong grip on Shane Steichen’s offense.
He’s appeared in 11 games with four starts since 2020 with Denver, the Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati. Rypien, 29, last delivered a pass in his last start: Week 9 of 2023 for the Rams in a loss at Green Bay.
The Colts opted for Rypien after working out at least four other quarterbacks on Tuesday. They called him and tried to arrange a flight from San Diego to Indy, but the available Tuesday evening flight was canceled.
“It’s been a bit of a whirlwind,’’ he said, “but glad to finally get here and get to work. Woke up 5-1, which is always a great feeling in the NFL to be a part of a winning team.’’
Since arriving in Indy on Wednesday, Rypien has been meeting with Steichen and offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter to absorb as much information as quickly as possible.
From an information overload standpoint, he’s dealing with his third offense in eight weeks. Rypien was released by the Minnesota Vikings Aug. 24, signed to Cincinnati’s practice squad Aug. 27, elevated to the Bengals’ active roster Sept. 16 after Joe Burrow suffered a toe injury that required surgery, released by the Bengals Oct. 7 when they acquired Joe Flacco in a trade with Cleveland and signed with the Colts on Wednesday.
“Everybody kind of runs the same stuff,’’ Rypien said. “It’s just wording it differently. It’s not necessarily learning. It’s more of unlearning things that I’ve called stuff in the past.’’
Rypien’s transition to yet another NFL home should be eased by Jones’ presence. They spent nearly two months together last season with the Vikings.
“I was the third-string/inactive and he was on the practice squad,’’ Rypien said, “so we kind of got to bond because we really weren’t doing a whole lot out at practice. It’s been great. He’s been awesome so far. Just trying to soak in as much information as I can. Just trying to learn as much as I can and get up to speed.’’
Jones described Rypien as “a great dude. He’s super, super smart. I was always really impressed by how that room operated and how those guys helped Sam (Darnold) prepare to play. Brett is a really smart, sharp guy, been in the league for a while and played in different offenses. So, excited to get to work with him again.’’
You can follow Mike Chappell on Twitter at @mchappell51.