Mark Rypien

Mark Robert Rypien (born October 2, 1962) is a Canadian former professional football player who was a quarterback for 14 seasons in the National Football League (NFL).

Born in Calgary, Alberta, Rypien moved to the United States in 1965 and was raised in Spokane, Washington.

He was a star three-sport athlete at Shadle Park High School.

All three of his varsity numbers (football, basketball, and baseball) were later retired by the school.

He accepted a football scholarship to Washington State University in Pullman, and joined the Delta Tau Delta fraternity.

A knee injury in spring drills in 1982 redshirted him for that season and he nearly left football and WSU in November 1983.

He played college football for the Washington State Cougars and was drafted by the Washington Redskins in the sixth round of the 1986 NFL Draft.

He was the first Canadian-born quarterback to both start in the NFL and be named Super Bowl MVP, doing so in Super Bowl XXVI with the Redskins.

He also played for several other NFL teams.

His nephew Brett plays in the NFL for the New York Jets.

After a good showing as a late replacement to the roster in the Senior Bowl, he was selected by the Washington Redskins in the sixth round of the 1986 NFL Draft, the 146th overall pick and the eighth quarterback selected.

Rypien spent his first two years as a professional on the Redskins' injured reserved list, first with a bad knee in 1986, then a bad back in 1987.

Rypien became the second stringer after Jay Schroeder, who lost his job to Williams late in the 1987 season, was traded to the Los Angeles Raiders.

In Week 4 against the newly relocated Phoenix Cardinals, Rypien got his first chance to start for an injured Williams and threw for 303 yards and two touchdowns in a 30–21 loss.

In six starts, he went 3–3 and he appeared in nine games overall, including a four-touchdown game in a rematch against the Cardinals.

He threw for 1,730 yards in those games and finished with three more touchdowns than Williams had, by a count of 18–15.

He watched from the sidelines as the Redskins won Super Bowl XXII under coach Joe Gibbs in January 1988 behind the quarterbacking of veteran Doug Williams.

Rypien was named the starter for 1989 ahead of the injured and aging Williams, Rypien emerged as a star quarterback as he threw for 3,768 yards with 22 touchdowns and led the Redskins to a 10–6 record.

The team missed the playoffs but Rypien received a bid as an injury replacement for Joe Montana and Don Majkowski in that year's Pro Bowl (NFC coach John Robinson elected to bring only one injury replacement for his intended starter and #2 quarterback).

Rypien was best known for his phenomenal accuracy as a deep passer.

The running joke in Washington at the time was that Rypien couldn't hit his warmup toss partner from ten yards away.

He threw ducks on the sidelines before games, but once the bullets were live, he showed the world why he is now considered one of the best deep ball passes in the history of the NFL.

He made the Pro Bowl in his first full season as a starter, fittingly as an injury replacement.

Rypien was named to the Pro Bowl in both 1989 and 1991.

Rypien was one of several players to benefit from the team's success following their championship season.

The 1991 season was Rypien's best: he threw for 3,564 yards and 28 touchdowns with 11 interceptions, leading the Redskins to Super Bowl XXVI after recording a 14–2 regular season record.

He was named the MVP (Most Valuable Player) of the game, passing for 292 yards and 2 touchdowns and leading his team to a 37–24 win over the Buffalo Bills.

Rypien, a native of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, became the first foreign-born player to earn the honor.

His passing yardage was a respectable 3,282 yards, but his passer rating fell from 97.9 in 1991 to 71.7 in 1992 and his interceptions outnumbered his touchdowns 17–13.

Although a dominant team performance in the playoffs brought victory over the Minnesota Vikings in an NFC Wild Card away game, the Redskins eventually lost on a rainy, muddy field in a bruising game vs. the San Francisco 49ers, and the Rypien era was essentially over.

The Redskins signed him to a 3-year, $9 million deal entering the 1992 season.

However, the team battled age and injuries and finished the regular season with a 9–7 record, barely making the playoffs.

Under new head coach Richie Petitbon, Rypien had his best training camp in 1993 and expectations were high following a Monday Night win over the defending Super Bowl Champion Dallas Cowboys.

However, Rypien injured his knee in Week 2 against the Arizona Cardinals and the team began a precipitous slide toward a 4–12 season finish.

When he was healthy enough to return, Rypien performed spot duty, sharing time with the newly acquired Rich Gannon.

The Redskins hired Norv Turner as their head coach in 1994.

Rypien participated in offseason workouts, but the team later released him.

On May 11, 1994, Rypien signed with the Cleveland Browns to backup Vinny Testaverde.

He played in six games for the Browns that year, starting three of them.

In those three games he went 2–1, including a 26–7 win over the Eagles.