Brett Rypien will be making his first career start when the Denver Broncos travel to face the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on "Thursday Night Football."
Rypien's name should sound familiar, and we'll get to that soon. Rypien becomes the third-different quarterback in four weeks for the Broncos, who are trying to avoid a 0-4 start for the second straight season. Rypien will try to make that happen.
What else should you know about Rypien? Here are some fast facts:
Brett Rypien's uncle was Super Bowl MVP
This is the most-obvious NFL tie. Brett is the nephew of Mark Rypien, the sixth-round quarterback who led the Washington Redskins to a victory in Super Bowl XXVI.
Mark Rypien played in the NFL from 1988-01 and finished 47-31 as a starter.
Brett Rypien set records in Washington
Rypien was a high school legend in Washington. He played at Shadle Park High School. He passed for a state record 13,044 yards in 39 starts in Spokane, Wash.
In 2014, Rypien set single-season state records with 4,552 passing yarsd and 50 TDs. He was a four-star recruit.
Rypien had offers from Washington and Washington State, but he chose the same school as fellow Washington high school legend Kellen Moore.
Rypien followed big shoes at Boise State
Moore compiled a 50-3 record at Boise State from 2008-11; a FBS record that was a tough act for any quarterback to follow.
Rypien did his best a few years later. The Broncos went 40-13 from 2015-18 with Rypien as the starter. Rypien did that with an efficient style that mirrored Moore in some ways. He had 14 games with at least three TD passes and no interceptions. He finished his four-year career with 90 TDs and 24 interceptions.
Boise State won the Mountain West Conference championship in 2017 and was the runner up in 2018.
Rypien set records in college
Rypien finished with 13,578 passing yards in his college career, which is the all-time lead for the Mountain West Conference. That total is good for 13th all time in the FBS.
Rypien is one spot ahead of Philip Rivers, who finished with 13,484 yards at N.C. State from 2000-03.
Rypien didn't finish his last college start
Rypien's last college start was at the First Responders Bowl against Boston College on Dec. 26, 2018. Boston College took a 7-0 lead before severe thunderstorms hit the Dallas area.
The storms continued off and on for the next three hours, and the game was canceled as a result.
That was the last game of Rypien's college career.
Rypien went undrafted in 2019
Rypien went undrafted in 2019, but he signed with the Denver Broncos shortly after the draft.
Rypien was waived by the Broncos last season before being placed on the practice squad. Denver protected Rypien on Sept. 22, 2020.
Rypien is the latest Broncos starter
Rypien replaced Jeff Driskel in Denver's 27-10 loss to Tampa Bay in Week 3. Rypien completed 8 of 9 passes for 53 yards with an interception, but that was enough for Broncos coach Vic Fangio to name Rypien the starter for Week 4's matchup against the Jets.
Rypien is the ninth different Denver starting quarterback since Peyton Manning retired after the 2015 season. A look at those quarterbacks and how many games they have started in the last five seasons:
| NAME | STARTS | ACQUIRED |
| Trevor Siemian | 24 | 2015 Draft (Seventh) |
| Case Keenum | 16 | Free agent (2018) |
| Joe Flacco | 8 | Trade (2019) |
| Drew Lock | 7 | 2019 Draft (Second) |
| Paxton Lynch | 4 | 2016 Draft (First) |
| Brock Osweiler | 4 | 2012 Draft (Second) |
| Brandon Allen | 3 | Waivers (2019) |
| Jeff Driskel | 1 | Free agent (2020) |
| Brett Rypien | 1 | Undrafted (2019) |
Broncos president John Elway's search for the next franchise continues, and Rypien joins that list now.
