Tag: Jeff Driskel

Former Bengals QB joins Commanders in free agency

A former Bengals QB is on the move.

A former Cincinnati Bengals quarterback has joined the Washington Commanders via free agency.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Jeff Driskel inked a deal with Washington, joining a depth chart that includes Marcus Maritoa after the trade of Sam Howell — a depth chart that might see more changes very soon.

Driskel was a waiver claim by the Bengals in 2016 and eventually made his debut with the team in 2018, replacing an injured Andy Dalton.

Funny enough, after bouncing around with a few different teams starting in 2019, Driskel actually started for the Cleveland Browns against the Bengals in last season’s finale, with the Browns resting starters en route to the playoffs.

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Commanders sign veteran QB Jeff Driskel

The Commanders now have three quarterbacks on the roster.

Washington general manager Adam Peters added another veteran quarterback to the roster on Monday, signing Jeff Driskel the day before the Commanders open the offseason program.

Washington now has three quarterbacks on the roster, as Driskel joins Marcus Mariota (signed last month) and Jake Fromm. The Commanders are expected to select a quarterback at No. 2 overall in this month’s 2024 NFL draft.

Driskel, who will turn 31 this month, has been in the NFL since 2016, when he entered the league as an undrafted free agent from Louisiana Tech. Before his lone season at Louisiana Tech, Driskel spent four seasons at the University of Florida, where he started on and off for his final three seasons.

The 6-foot-4, 235-pound Driskel was a sixth-round pick of the 49ers in 2016, which was Peters’ first season there. San Francisco waived him during final cuts, and he was claimed by the Cincinnati Bengals. He spent two years with the Bengals, some of which he was injured, but he did start the final five games of the 2018 season.

The Bengals waived Driskel, and the Detroit Lions claimed him. He started three games for the Lions in 2019 and finished the season on injured reserve. He spent the 2020 season with the Denver Broncos, appearing in three games and making one start. After the Broncos waived him in May, he signed with the Houston Texans.

Driskel played for the Texans for two seasons, playing in eight games with one start. He spent most of the 2023 season on the Arizona Cardinals practice squad before he was signed to the Cleveland Browns’ 53-man roster in December. He would start in Cleveland’s regular-season finale.

For his career, Driskel has appeared in 24 games with 12 starts. He was one career win as a starting quarterback, completing 229 of his 391 passing attempts (58.6%) for 2,394 yards (6.4 YPA), with 16 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He has rushed for 417 yards and three touchdowns.

Driskel was likely signed as an extra quarterback for the offseason program in training camp. Once Washington drafts a quarterback, Driskel isn’t likely to make the roster, or he’ll compete with Fromm for the Commanders’ third quarterback position.

Ex-Broncos QB Jeff Driskel details bumpy ride in 2023 season

Journeyman backup QB Jeff Driskel estimates that he spent 140 nights away from his family and 85 nights in hotels during the 2023 season.

Being a quarterback in the NFL is a job that countless Americans would love to have, but it’s not always as glamorous as fans might think.

Jeff Driskel took to social media last week to detail the bumpy ride he had as a journeyman backup quarterback during the 2023 season.

“Year 8 in the Books,” Driskel wrote on his Twitter/X page. “Enjoyed the time with both the Cardinals and the Browns. Professional sports is the best career in the world but has its challenges to say the least. The journey is what makes it special! Here’s a quick recap of the season by some numbers:

Signed: 4
Cut: 2
Tryouts: 2
AirBnB Rented: 2
Houses Crashed at: 1
Nights Away Family: Approx 140
Nights in a Hotel: Approx 85
SMB Acquired: 1 (will get more into this later)

There’s always challenges, but it was a blast. Thankful to still be able to play at the highest level

Driskel has spent time with seven NFL teams since entering the league in 2016. He played for the Denver Broncos in 2020, starting one game when the team had injuries at the position. Driskel completed 54.7% of his passes for 432 yards with three touchdowns against two interceptions in Denver.

Driskel has dressed for 24 games since 2018, starting half of them. Now entering his ninth year as a pro, Driskel is scheduled to become a free agent in March. He will turn 31 in April.

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Browns name Jeff Driskel backup QB over P.J. Walker heading into wild-card game

The Browns officially have a new backup quarterback.

Jeff Driskel got the start for the Cleveland Browns over P.J. Walker a week ago and has done enough to win the backup quarterback job entering the postseason.

Speaking to the media today as the team prepares to take on the Houston Texans in the wild-card round, offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt said Driskel will be Cleveland’s backup quarterback.

In the Week 18 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, Driskel went 13-of-26 for 166 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. He was sacked three times on the day as well. Both of his touchdowns were to wide receiver David Bell in the fourth quarter.

Having started five quarterbacks this season, the Browns will hope to have way more health in the playoffs and just stick it out with Joe Flacco as they look to make a run at the first Super Bowl appearance in franchise history.

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PFF’s 10 highest-graded Browns’ offensive players vs. Bengals

The second team struggled for most of the day

On Sunday the Cleveland Browns played nearly none of their starters on the offensive line against the Cincinnati Bengals to wrap up the regular season. In preparation for the playoffs, Kevin Stefanski opted to rest his starters and get them healthier for what they hope is a deep playoff run.

Jeff Driskel became the fifth different quarterback to start for the Browns in what has been a rollercoaster of a season. He struggled for the first three quarters without much production although he did have a few good throws in the fourth quarter including two touchdowns to wide receiver David Bell.

Cleveland did get an extended look at rookie Luke Wypler who played out of position at guard and did so rather well for a first career start. More good stuff from Nick Harris who was back at center with Ethan Pocic resting for the postseason overall the depth on the offensive line had a decent outing.

Here are the Top 10 performances from the regular season finale according to PFF.

Jeff Driskel and David Bell connect again for second Browns’ touchdown vs. Bengals

They did it again!

The Cleveland Browns strike again against the Cincinnati Bengals. More specifically, quarterback Jeff Driskel and wide receiver David Bell have connected for their second touchdown strike in this game.

Padding his stats in garbage time, Driskell is now up to 168 yards and two touchdowns on 13-of-26 passing. He also has the two interceptions to his name.

Bell is now up to 68 yards and two touchdowns on four catches for the Browns today. This is a career-high for the second-year receiver out of Purdue.

While the Browns trail in this game by a score of 14-31, it remains refreshing to see that even their second and third-stringers are going to play for a full 60 minutes when given the chance.

More importantly, the Browns already have their playoff spot locked down while the Bengals will clean out their lockers in the morning. The Browns will play the Houston Texans in the first round of the playoffs.

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Browns get garbage time touchdown as Jeff Driskel finds David Bell deep vs. Bengals

The Browns waited until the fourth quarter to get into the endzone

The Cleveland Browns finally get on the board against the Cincinnati Bengals! While this is a preseason game for them, quarterback Jeff Driskel was able to hit David Bell for a long 31-yard touchdown.

On the day, Driskel is just 9-of-21 passing for 109 yards and two interceptions in his audition for the backup quarterback job. Needless to say, he has not done enough to take the gig from P.J. Walker.

Bell is Cleveland’s leading receiver with 44 yards on three catches today, with 31 yards coming on this 4th down touchdown strike.

This game has gone about as expected as the Browns rested the majority of their starters and gave their young guys playing time. The score now sits at 31-7 with five minutes left in the game.

But who cares about the outcome of this game? Our eyes are more focused on the game between Jacksonville and Tennessee as the Browns will either play the Jaguars or Houston Texans in the first round of the playoffs.

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Browns to rest starters vs Bengals, Jeff Driskel returns to Cincinnati

Jeff Driskel returns to Cincinnati for a backup-led Browns team.

When the Cincinnati Bengals host the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, the Browns will be resting many of their starters since they are already locked into a playoff spot and can’t improve their standing.

Joe Flacco, who has had an impressive comeback season and led them to this position, won’t play in the game and will rest for the playoff game they will play the following week.

Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski wouldn’t specify any other starters that would be getting rested in the game, but it will likely be many of them.

In Flacco’s place will be a familiar face for the Bengals in former Cincinnati quarterback Jeff Driskel, who signed with the Browns last week. He will be the fifth starting quarterback Cleveland has sent out this year.

Driskel spent one year with the Bengals, playing in nine games and starting five of them. He had a 1-4 record in his starts while throwing for 1,003 yards six touchdowns and two interceptions in his time on the field in relief of Andy Dalton who was injured for the last five games of the year.

Since then Driskel has also played for the Detroit Lions, Denver Broncos and Houston Texans, but he has better numbers with the Bengals than he does with any other team.

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Browns join ’87 Patriots to start 5 different QBs in a season

When Jeff Driskel starts in Week 18 for the Browns, he will be their fifth different starting QB this season

Jeff Driskel gets the call to start at quarterback on Sunday when the Cleveland Browns play the Cincinnati Bengals.

With the Browns safely locked into the fifth playoff spot, Kevin Stefanski is not going to risk injury to 38-year-old Joe Flacco.

Driskel becomes the fifth different player to start at quarterback for the Browns in the 2023 regular season.

The others are Flacco, PJ Walker, Dorian Thompson-Robinson, and Deshaun Watson.

Another team that started 5 quarterbacks was the 1987 New England Patriots, possibly the only one.

Those starters were: Steve Grogan, Tom Ramsey, Tony Eason, Bob Bleier, and Doug Flutie.

For those of you who don’t remember Bleier, who split two starts in the strike-disrupted season:

Bob Bleier was one of the most prolific passers in Richmond football history, finishing his career first on the Spiders’ career lists with 1,169 career attempts, 672 completions, 8,057 passing yards and 54 passing touchdowns from 1983-86. Bleier owned three of the top five passing seasons in school history. He was Second Team All-Yankee Conference in 1986 and played in the Blue-Gray Game following that season. Bleier played for the New England Patriots of the National Football League in 1987.

Browns join ’87 Patriots to start 5 different QBs in a season

When Jeff Driskel starts in Week 18 for the Browns, he will be their fifth different starting QB this season

Jeff Driskel gets the call to start at quarterback on Sunday when the Cleveland Browns play the Cincinnati Bengals.

With the Browns safely locked into the fifth playoff spot, Kevin Stefanski is not going to risk injury to 38-year-old Joe Flacco.

Driskel becomes the fifth different player to start at quarterback for the Browns in the 2023 regular season.

The others are Flacco, PJ Walker, Dorian Thompson-Robinson, and Deshaun Watson.

Another team that started 5 quarterbacks was the 1987 New England Patriots, possibly the only one.

Those starters were: Steve Grogan, Tom Ramsey, Tony Eason, Bob Bleier, and Doug Flutie.

For those of you who don’t remember Bleier, who split two starts in the strike-disrupted season:

Bob Bleier was one of the most prolific passers in Richmond football history, finishing his career first on the Spiders’ career lists with 1,169 career attempts, 672 completions, 8,057 passing yards and 54 passing touchdowns from 1983-86. Bleier owned three of the top five passing seasons in school history. He was Second Team All-Yankee Conference in 1986 and played in the Blue-Gray Game following that season. Bleier played for the New England Patriots of the National Football League in 1987.