Mark Rypien's nephew makes NFL debut originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
For Washington football fans, the underwhelming loss to the Cleveland Browns and a bevy of fascinating finishes across the NFL's third week may have overshadowed this interesting blast from the past.
When the depleted Denver Broncos were practically out of it against Tom Brady's Buccaneers, undrafted free agent Brett Rypien was thrust into the action. Thinking that Rypien name sounds familiar? That's because he really is the nephew of the one and only Mark Rypien.
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Mark Rypien played in Brady's first start for the Patriots, quarterbacking for the Colts in a game early in the 2001 season.
Mark Rypien played six seasons with Washington, replacing veteran Super Bowl-winning QB Doug Williams in 1989. Rypien, remembered as one of the best deep ball threats of all time, won two Super Bowls with Washington in 1988 and 1992.
Brett's start with the Broncos had as challenging a start as his Uncle Mark's first start under center with Washington. Mark Rypien was forced to sit out his first two years to recover from injuries. While Broncos QB Drew Lock recovered from his injury suffered among a plethora of Week 2 injuries, Mark's nephew Brett was thrown into the fire as he carried on the family legacy.
Brett, who was called up from the practice squad on Friday, replaced Jeff Driskel in the fourth quarter trailing 28-10. He completed his first eight pass attempts before getting a fourth-and-one attempt from the 13 intercepted to seal the game.
