Why the Broncos are starting Brett Rypien despite Russell Wilson clearing concussion protocols

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The Denver Broncos will be without quarterback Russell Wilson on Sunday as they take on the Arizona Cardinals. Wilson passed the NFL’s concussion protocol, but the team decided to give him another week to rest.

“As an organization, we’ve decided to give him another week to get ready so he’s ready to go for the Los Angeles Rams,” head coach Nathaniel Hackett said. “It’s best for our organization and it’s best for Russell. We talked about this from top all the way to the bottom. We looked at every single thing and just wanted to give him another week to get ready.”

Wilson’s head bounced off the ground during Sunday’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs, leaving the 34-year-old quarterback with a concussion. Wilson has worked through the league’s protocol for head injuries this week, including participating fully in Friday’s practice. Hackett said Wilson looked great in practice and he’s been in meetings this week.

“Player safety is so important to us, and we just want to do what’s right for him in this situation,” he said. “He is healthy to play, and he can go. It’s just something that we think is best for our organization.”

Some research suggests that a second concussion is more likely shortly after the first, or that a second concussion in a short time period is more likely to be severe.

Wilson was not happy about the decision.

“It was a collective decision from the organization and they wanted to let me get some rest,” Wilson said. “They wanted to give me another a week to recover and all that. Obviously for me, I always want to be out on the field. I believe in competing and being out there on the field no matter what the circumstances are.”

Fourth-year quarterback Brett Rypien will play in Wilson’s place. He received all of the first-team reps in practice this week. He’s a career 56% passer with three touchdowns and six interceptions.

“We’re very confident in ‘Ryp’ and very excited for ‘Ryp’ and this opportunity to go against Arizona Cardinals,” Hackett said.

Rypien is excited for the opportunity, too.

“It’s not exciting that Russell is injured and recovering, but I know he’s doing better and I’m just excited for the opportunity,” he said. “Always excited when you get to play. Such a blessing to be in this position. My only focus is to try to get a win on Sunday.”

Rypien filled in for Wilson during Sunday’s game after Wilson sustained the concussion. The 26-year-old has started two games in his career, including one this season against the Jets.

“The Jets game, we’ve just got to gotta be better in the redzone,” Rypien said. “We had some opportunities to put up some more points. I thought we had a chance to win that game and ultimately came up short.”

Part of Rypien’s plan is to get Jerry Jeudy going. Jeudy is coming off one of his best game’s in his career, a three-touchdown performance in which he picked up 113 yards either from scrimmage or via penalties. One of those touchdowns came from Rypien.

“Jerry has been here for three years now,” Rypien said. “When he was a rookie, I remember we were able to get a lot of reps together during that training camp during COVID. He’s just a guy that I’ve always trusted. He’s one heck of a player. He does a great job against man coverage getting open. He’s very trustworthy.”

Not only will Wilson not start Sunday’s game, he won’t be an option at all. Undrafted rookie Jarrett Guarantano will serve as the backup. The former Tennessee Volunteer spent training camp with the Arizona Cardinals, but signed with the Broncos’ practice squad two weeks ago after he spent two months as a free agent.

So whose playbook does the 25-year-old know better?

“It was funny, I felt more comfortable on the scout team running the Cardinals’ stuff than I did running this stuff,” Guarantano said on Friday.

Hackett wouldn’t mind seeing Guarantano get some run.

“It will be exciting if he’s out there,” Hackett said. “He has some really good intangibles. His ability to throw the football is very good. He has very good athleticism. Up to this point, he’s picked it up really well.”

Despite not wearing a uniform, Wilson plans to help out however he can on the sideline on Sunday.

“As a competitor—as a guy who wants to go out there and win no matter what our record is—I want to be out there,” Wilson said. “I want to help us win. How I can do that this week is really making sure everybody, all the young guys, everybody else is prepared, ready to rock and roll. I’m gonna do everything I can to make sure that we do that.”