Tag: Jeff Driskel

Houston Texans 2021 player profile: QB Jeff Driskel

Jeff Driskel is a wild-card to be the starting quarterback for the Houston Texans, but he does provide depth as a backup during training camp.

When Jeff Driskel signed with the Houston Texans in May, his arrival ensued in the release of Ryan Finley — who was acquired by the team in a trade with the Cincinnati Bengals two months earlier. Without playing one snap under center, Driskel had already surpassed one equivalent on the Texans’ quarterback depth chart.

Now, it may take a slew of injuries and the lack of progress from a rookie quarterback for Driskel to receive consistent playing time in Houston. Here is a look into Driskel’s first stint with the Texans ahead of the 2021 season.

QB Jeff Driskel chose the Texans over the Jaguars

Free agent quarterback Jeff Driskel chose the Houston Texans over the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Free agent quarterback Jeff Driskel signed with the Houston Texans on May 19.

The former San Francisco 49ers 2016 sixth-round pick signed a one-year contract with a maximum value of $2.5 million.

According to Aaron Wilson of SportsTalk 790, Driskel chose the Texans over the Jacksonville Jaguars, who he was scheduled to visit. Driskel had recently visited with the Dallas Cowboys.

Driskel’s contract comes with a $1 million base salary with $500,000 guaranteed and a $250,000 signing bonus.

The former Louisiana Tech product joins a crowded Texans quarterback room that already has Deshaun Watson, Tyrod Taylor, Ryan Finley, and third-round rookie Davis Mills on the roster.

Driskel started one game for the Denver Broncos last season, going 0-1 in the process and throwing three touchdowns and two interceptions.

Texans to sign former Bengals, Lions, Broncos QB Jeff Driskel

The Houston Texans will sign former Cincinnati Bengals, Detroit Lions, and Denver Broncos quarterback Jeff Driskel according to his agent.

The Houston Texans are adding another quarterback to their roster.

As the Texans enter phase two of the offseason workouts, during the advent of organized team activities, Houston will sign quarterback Jeff Driskel.

Driskel has played for the Cincinnati Bengals, Detroit Lions, and Denver Broncos. The 6-4, 235-pound signal caller was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the sixth-round of the 2016 NFL draft. Driskel stayed on through the preseason when he was cut as the 49ers trimmed down to their 53-man roster.

Driskel got his start in 2018 with the Bengals, going 1-4 as a starter and throwing for six touchdowns and two interceptions. In 2019, Driskel went 0-3 as a starter filling in for an injured Matthew Stafford, compiling a 4-4 touchdown to interception ratio. In 2020, Driskel went 0-1 for Denver and threw for three touchdowns and an interception.

The Texans already have Tyrod Taylor, Ryan Finley, and third-round rookie Davis Mills on the roster. Driskel becomes another part of the Texans’ great reset at quarterback as they seek to move on from three-time Pro Bowler Deshaun Watson, who requested a trade in January.

Report: Cowboys to work out potential No. 2 QB on Friday

In need of a backup quarterback with skins on the wall, Dallas will look into Jeff Driskel on Friday.

One never knows who’s watching, so it’s always important to make a good impression. So goes it for journeyman quarterback Jeff Driskel, most recently of the Denver Broncos. The Dallas Cowboys escaped the 2021 NFL draft without selecting a quarterback, leaving their 90-man roster with the same group of four signal callers they had as soon as Andy Dalton hit free agency.

The Cowboys don’t have a veteran backup behind Dak Prescott. Or at least they don’t currently as Driskel has been confirmed as a Friday visitor to The Star for a workout and a potential signing to be the veteran presence. Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News had the report first.

The 6-foot-4, 235 fourth-year player is looking for his fourth team after playing for Louisiana Tech in 2015. That followed four years with the Florida Gators and a graduate transfer. Since being in the pros he’s plied his trade for Cincinnati and Detroit before playing with the Broncos last year. Each year he’s gotten at least one start and boasts a 1-8 career record.

In 2018 he actually squared off against the Cowboys, throwing for a 109.3 passer rating with 209 yards and two scores against zero interceptions in a 35-27 Dallas victory. Even more impressive, Driskel also ran for 51 yards and another score.

In 15 games he has those 9 starts and has thrown for 2,120 yards with 13 touchdowns against just eight interceptions. He has 309 rushing yards and another score under his belt as well as one reception.

The Cowboys currently have Garrett Gilbert penciled in the second line of the depth chart behind Prescott. Gilbert started one contest in 2020, almost ending the Pittsburgh Steelers at-the-time undefeated campaign in Week 9. He threw for 243 yards in a 24-19 loss where Dallas was driving to win the game at the end of the fourth quarter.

Gilbert took over a game after then-rookie Ben DiNucci struggled mightily in his first start after Dalton was lost for a few weeks due to a concussion suffered against Washington.

Also on the Cowboys’ roster is Cooper Rush, who spent last year on the practice squad after the injuries started piling up.

Were Driskel to sign, Dallas would need to make a corresponding roster move and it’s more than likely it would be one of the latter two names who suffers the fate.

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The Broncos put Kendall Hinton in an impossible situation, and they deserve all the blame

The Broncos presented Kendall Hinton with an impossible challenge, and he responded as well as he possibly could.

Per Pro Football Reference, there are 10 instances in NFL history in which a quarterback attempted at least five passes, completed none of those passes to anyone on his own team, and threw at least two interceptions to the other team. The list of quarterbacks includes Joe Gilliam (1973) and Terry Hanratty (1974) of the Steelers, and Johnny Unitas (1971 for the Colts) and Jim Harbaugh (1998 for the Ravens). So, there are a lot of on-purpose starting quarterbacks in the annals of NFL history who have done far worse than Kendall Hinton did for the Broncos in Denver’s 31-3 loss to the Saints on Sunday.

Hinton, a practice squad receiver before all of Denver’s four quarterbacks were deemed unavailable for the game due to COVID concerns, didn’t even know some of his teammates, and he was facing one of the NFL’s better defenses. During his five years at Wake Forest from 2015 through 2019, the QB/WR hybrid completed 133 of 251 passes for 1,504 yards, eight touchdown passes, and seven interceptions. There was no way Hinton was going to succeed, but because the Broncos had a COVID disaster among their quarterbacks, and it happened late in the week, there was no recourse — no other quarterback to sign and get up to speed given the league’s coronavirus protocols.

What happened was, Broncos backup quarterback Jeff Driskel tested positive this week, and all three of Denver’s other actual quarterbacks (Drew Lock, Blake Bortles, and Brett Rypien) were not using masks while in close contact — which Lock later confirmed on Twitter.

A clear mistake, and though nobody deserves the potential result, Hinton certainly didn’t deserve what might wind up being his only shot at the NFL. Hinton completed one of his nine attempts for 13 yards, no touchdowns, and two interceptions, so he at least avoided the above list of ineptitude. He also doesn’t deserve any of the heat that may be coming his way. The Broncos were careless, they ran afoul of the league’s protocols even through the league has outlined those protocols in explicit detail over and over throughout the season.

So, there’s no point in showing Hinton’s interceptions. We all knew he was going to throw them. We all knew this was going to be a disaster. The Broncos knew this was going to be a disaster. That’s why they actually tried to get the NFL to let them activate offensive quality control coach Rob Calabrese on the roster as a quarterback, but the NFL wouldn’t allow that. Calabrese played quarterback and receiver at UCF from 2008 through 2012.

Yes, he does. The Broncos’ “actual” quarterbacks? Not so much at this point.

Report: Broncos to play Saints without all of their QB’s due to COVID-19

The Denver Broncos lost all of their quarterbacks for Week 12’s game with the New Orleans Saints after close contacts to a COVID-19 result.

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Here’s a new one, even by the absurd standards of 2020: ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the Denver Broncos will be without a quarterback in Sunday’s game with the New Orleans Saints. All four passers on their roster will be unavailable after backup quarterback Jeff Driskel was designated to the reserve/COVID-19 list because they were high-risk contacts near Driskel during practice. None of them were wearing masks before Driskel was sent home.

It means that Drew Lock, Brett Rypien, and Blake Bortles will be ruled out to play. The Saints are still traveling to Denver and will learn more when they get there, but for now, Schefter reports that the Broncos do not plan to forfeit.

So who could play quarterback instead? One candidate is running back Royce Freeman, who saw some action in the wildcat at Oregon. A better option may be practice squad wide receiver Kendall Hinton, who started at quarterback for three years at Wake Forest. It’s a difficult question to answer and the Broncos coaching staff must work around the clock to resolve it.

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Denver Broncos have major quarterback COVID-19 issues

Jeff Driskel has tested positive for COVID-19. The other Broncos’ QBs were sent home on the eve of the game with the Saints.

The Denver Broncos could be in a major quarterback quandary when they face the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.

According to reports, Jeff Driskel has tested positive for COVID-19. That’s just the start of it as Drew Lock, Brett Rypien, and Blake Bortles — Denver’s other quarterbacks — have been sent home to determine whether any of them are COVID-19 positive or would be available to play in Week 12.

Broncos promote QB Brett Rypien from practice squad to 53-man roster

The Broncos will activate quarterback Brett Rypien from the practice squad to the 53-man roster.

The Denver Broncos will promote second-year quarterback Brett Rypien from the practice squad to the 53-man roster, according to KOA Radio’s Brandon Krisztal. Rypien is expected to serve as Jeff Driskel’s backup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 3.

After promoting Rypien, Denver now has four quarterbacks on the active roster. The Broncos decided not to place Drew Lock on injured reserve, which would have ruled him out for at least three weeks. If Lock heals quickly, he could possibly return in fewer than three weeks.

Blake Bortles isn’t ready to serve as the No. 2 QB this week after signing Thursday. Bortles is a likely candidate to serve as a backup in Week 4.

When Lock and Joe Flacco were injured last season, Rypien served as the backup behind Brandon Allen for three games. Rypien signed with Denver as an undrafted free agent out of Boise State last year. He is yet to appear in a regular season NFL game.

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Broncos sign QB Blake Bortles to 1-year contract

The Broncos have officially signed quarterback Blake Bortles.

The Denver Broncos have signed 28-year-old quarterback Blake Bortles to a one-year contract, the team announced Thursday. The one-year deal is worth the NFL’s veteran minimum, according to multiple reports.

Bortles passed COVID-19 testing in time to practice Thursday.

Denver tried to bring Bortles in for a visit last year but he canceled that visit after he had a positive visit with the Los Angeles Rams. He went on to sign a one-year, $1 million contract with the Rams.

Before spending last season as Jared Goff’s backup in L.A., Bortles spent five seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Bortles was selected by the Jags out of UCF with the third overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft.

Bortles never quite lived up to his draft status but he had strong stretches of play in Jacksonville and helped the Jaguars reach the AFC Championship Game in 2017. In his career, Bortles has thrown for 17,649 yards and 103 touchdowns against 75 interceptions. He has also rushed for 1,766 yards and eight more scores on the ground.

Bortles is a candidate to serve as the Broncos’ new No. 2 quarterback behind fill-in starter Jeff Driskel, who is replacing an injured Drew Lock. Brett Rypien, who is currently on the practice squad, is another backup option.

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History suggests Broncos are unlikely to sign Colin Kaepernick

Don’t expect the Broncos to sign Colin Kaepernick after losing Drew Lock to a shoulder injury.

After losing starter Drew Lock (shoulder) for the next 2-6 weeks, the Denver Broncos will likely add another quarterback to the roster.

Colin Kaepernick is the most notable name among the free agent quarterbacks available but, so far, he hasn’t come up in the team’s discussions about potential options.

“His name hasn’t come up in the brief discussions I’ve had with John [Elway] at this point,” Broncos coach Vic Fangio said during his Zoom media availability on Monday. “I’m sure John and Matt [Russell] will work hard to bring somebody in here that they think will be the best fit.”

After winning Super Bowl 50, Deven tried to trade for Kaepernick in 2016 when he was playing for the San Francisco 49ers. The 49ers wouldn’t agree to pay part of Kaepernick’s salary in exchange for a draft pick and Kaepernick didn’t want to accept a pay cut in order to make the trade go through.

After the trade failed to materialize, Kaepernick stayed put in San Francisco and earned his full salary before leaving the 49ers in 2017.

Two years after failing to complete a trade for Kaepernick, Elway shot down the possibility of signing the quarterback in 2018.

“Colin had his chance to be here,” Elway said during a training camp press conference two years ago. “We offered him a contract. He didn’t take it.”

Kaepernick knelt during the playing of the national anthem during the 2016 season in protest of racism and police brutality. He hasn’t been on any NFL rosters since becoming a free agent thee years ago.

Given Elway’s 2018 remark that Kaepernick “had his chance” to join the team in the past, it seems unlikely that Denver will consider bringing in the 32-year-old quarterback now.

The Broncos will start Jeff Driskel while Lock is sidelined and this week, Brett Rypien is expected to serve as the backup. Any quarterback Denver brings in would have to pass multiple COVID-19 tests so it’s unlikely any new quarterback would be ready to dress in time for Sunday’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

We’ve put together lists of free agent quarterbacks and practice squad quarterbacks Denver might consider adding with Lock sidelined.

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