Jeff Driskel

Jeff Driskel
refer to caption
Driskel with the Detroit Lions in 2019
No. 16 – Washington Commanders
Position:Quarterback
Personal information
Born: (1993-04-23) April 23, 1993 (age 31)
Oviedo, Florida, U.S.
Height:6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight:231 lb (105 kg)
Career information
High school:Hagerty (Oviedo)
College:
NFL draft:2016 / round: 6 / pick: 207
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
  • C–USA Newcomer of the Year (2015)
Career NFL statistics as of Week 9, 2024
Passing attempts:391
Passing completions:229
Completion percentage:58.6%
TD–INT:16–10
Passing yards:2,394
Passer rating:79.4
Rushing yards:417
Rushing touchdowns:3
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Jeffrey Matthew Driskel (born April 23, 1993) is an American professional football quarterback for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Florida Gators and Louisiana Tech Bulldogs and was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the sixth round of the 2016 NFL draft. Driskel has played for the Cincinnati Bengals, Detroit Lions, Denver Broncos, Houston Texans, Arizona Cardinals, and Cleveland Browns.

Early life

[edit]

Driskel attended Paul J. Hagerty High School in Oviedo, Florida, where he played high school football and basketball.[1] During his high school career, he threw for 4,844 yards and 36 touchdowns. In 2010, Driskel was selected as a member of the Elite 11 quarterback competition, finishing first among quarterbacks and awarded MVP.[2] As a senior in 2010, he was the Maxwell Football Club National High School Player of the Year and the Gatorade Florida Player of the Year.[3][4] He was ranked as the best pro-style quarterback recruit in his class by Rivals.com and Scout.com.[5][6]

College career

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Florida

[edit]

Driskel accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida, where he played for coach Will Muschamp's Florida Gators football team. As a freshman, Driskel appeared in five games, completing 16 of 34 passes for 148 yards with two interceptions. He became the team's starter as a sophomore in 2012. He led them to an 11–2 record and a berth in the 2013 Sugar Bowl, in which Florida lost to the Louisville Cardinals.[7]

After starting three games in 2013, Driskel broke his right fibula in a game against Tennessee and missed the remainder of the season.[8] He returned from the injury in 2014 and kept his starting job to start the season but was later benched in favor of Treon Harris.[9][10]

Louisiana Tech

[edit]

On January 3, 2015, Driskel was granted a release from Florida and he transferred to Louisiana Tech University.[11] In his lone season at Louisiana Tech, he passed for 4,026 yards with 27 touchdowns.[12]

College statistics
Season Games Passing Rushing
GP GS Record Comp Att Pct Yards Avg TD Int Rate Att Yards Avg TD
Florida Gators
2011 5 0 0−0 16 34 47.1 148 4.4 0 2 71.9 16 18 1.1 0
2012 12 11 9−2 156 245 63.7 1,646 6.7 12 5 132.2 118 413 3.5 4
2013 3 3 2−1 42 61 68.9 477 7.8 2 3 135.5 17 38 2.2 1
2014 9 6 3−3 114 212 53.8 1,140 5.4 9 10 103.5 69 180 2.6 4
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs
2015 13 13 9−4 279 448 62.3 4,026 9.0 27 8 154.1 92 323 3.5 5
Career[13] 42 33 23−10 607 1,000 60.7 7,437 7.4 50 28 134.1 312 972 3.1 14

Baseball

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Despite not playing baseball since high school, Driskel was selected by the Boston Red Sox with the 863rd pick of the 2013 Major League Baseball Draft. Driskel signed a contract,[14] but he had no plans to stop playing football.[15]

Professional career

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Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Wonderlic
6 ft 4 in
(1.93 m) 		234 lb
(106 kg) 		33 in
(0.84 m) 		9+3⁄4 in
(0.25 m)		 4.56 s 1.65 s 2.71 s 4.25 s 7.19 s 32.0 in
(0.81 m)		 10 ft 2 in
(3.10 m)		 29[16]
All values from NFL Combine[17][18]

San Francisco 49ers

[edit]

Driskel was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the sixth round of the 2016 NFL draft with the 207th overall pick.[19] The 49ers previously traded tight end Vernon Davis to the Denver Broncos in exchange for the pick used to select Driskel. On May 5, 2016, the 49ers signed him to a four-year, $2.45 million contract with a signing bonus of $112,539.[20] Driskel began training camp as the No. 4 quarterback on the depth chart.[21] After a season-ending injury to Thad Lewis, Driskel competed with Christian Ponder for the third-string quarterback position. On September 3, 2016, he was waived by the 49ers.[22]

Cincinnati Bengals

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Driskel was claimed off waivers by the Cincinnati Bengals on September 4, 2016.[23] He began the season as the Bengals' third quarterback on their depth chart behind veterans Andy Dalton and A. J. McCarron.

On September 4, 2017, Driskel was placed on injured reserve.[24]

Driskel made his regular-season NFL debut on October 21, 2018, in relief of Andy Dalton in the fourth quarter in the final minutes of a 45–10 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, completing all four of his pass attempts for 39 yards.[25] In Week 12, against the Cleveland Browns, Dalton was injured and out for the season with a thumb injury.[26] Driskel came into the game in relief and threw his first professional touchdown to Tyler Boyd. He added a late rushing touchdown in the 35–20 loss.[27] He started the last five games of the season for the Bengals. He went 1–4 and passed for 764 yards, five touchdowns, and two interceptions in the five starts.[28]

Driskel was placed on injured reserve on August 31, 2019.[29] He was waived from injured reserve with an injury settlement on September 11.[30]

Detroit Lions

[edit]
Driskel in a game against the Washington Redskins

On September 17, 2019, Driskel was signed by the Detroit Lions.[31] On November 10, 2019, Driskel made his first start for the Lions against the Chicago Bears after Matthew Stafford was inactive due to injury.[32] He finished the Week 10 contest with 269 passing yards, one touchdown, and one interception as the Lions lost 20–13.[33] In Week 11 against the Dallas Cowboys, Driskel threw for 209 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 51 yards and a touchdown in the 35–27 loss.[34] After suffering a hamstring injury during a loss to the Washington Redskins, Driskel was placed on injured reserve on November 30, 2019.[35]

Denver Broncos

[edit]

On March 27, 2020, Driskel signed a two-year contract with the Denver Broncos.[36] On September 20, 2020, Driskel came in for injured starting quarterback Drew Lock in a Week 2 matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He passed for 256 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception in relief in the 26–21 loss.[37] Driskel made his first start as a Bronco in Week 3 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. During the game, Driskel threw for 176 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception before being benched in the fourth quarter of the 28–10 loss.[38] On November 26, 2020, Driskel was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list after testing positive for the virus.[39] He and the other three quarterbacks on the Broncos roster were fined by the team for violating COVID-19 protocols.[40] Driskel was activated from the COVID-19 list on December 16, 2020.[41] On May 3, 2021, Driskel was released by the Broncos.[42]

Houston Texans

[edit]

On May 20, 2021, Driskel signed a one-year contract with the Houston Texans.[43] He was released on August 31, 2021.[44] He was signed to the practice squad the following day.[45] He was promoted to the active roster on October 16, 2021.[46] On November 18, Driskel converted from quarterback to tight end, playing the position for the first time in his career. He was placed on injured reserve on December 22.[47]

On March 18, 2022, Driskel re-signed with the Texans.[48] He was released on August 30, 2022, and signed back to the practice squad the next day.[49][50] He was promoted to the active roster on December 14.[51]

Arizona Cardinals

[edit]

On April 17, 2023, Driskel signed a one-year contract with the Arizona Cardinals.[52] He was released on August 29, 2023, and re-signed to the practice squad the next day.[53][54] He was released again on October 20 and re-signed to the practice squad on October 31.[55] He was elevated to the active roster on November 4, 2023 to backup Clayton Tune against the Cleveland Browns.[55][56] Driskel then reverted back to the practice squad after the game.[56]

Cleveland Browns

[edit]

On December 29, 2023, Driskel was signed by the Cleveland Browns off the Cardinals practice squad.[57]

On January 3, 2024, the Browns announced Driskel would be the starting quarterback in their 2023-24 regular season finale, a week 18 matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals. The Browns clinched a playoff berth the week prior, so they decided to rest some of their key starters, including quarterback Joe Flacco, for the regular season finale to avoid potential injury.[58][59]

Washington Commanders

[edit]

On April 1, 2024, Driskel signed with the Washington Commanders.[60]

NFL career statistics

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Year Team Games Passing Rushing Sacked Fumbles
GP GS Record Cmp Att Pct Yds Avg Lng TD Int Rtg Att Yds Avg Lng TD Sck SckY Fum Lost
2016 CIN Did not play
2017 CIN
2018 CIN 9 5 1–4 105 176 59.7 1,003 5.7 37 6 2 82.2 25 130 5.2 27 2 16 122 4 1
2019 DET 3 3 0–3 62 105 59.0 685 6.5 47 4 4 75.3 22 151 6.9 23 1 11 46 1 0
2020 DEN 3 1 0–1 35 64 54.7 432 6.8 45 3 2 78.4 6 28 4.7 9 0 11 98 0 0
2021 HOU 1 0 — 0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2022 HOU 7 2 0–2 14 20 70.0 108 5.4 28 1 0 99.6 20 75 3.8 10 0 2 13 0 0
2023 CLE 1 1 0–1 13 26 50.0 166 6.4 31 2 2 63.9 7 33 4.7 13 0 3 26 0 0
2024 WSH 1 0 — 0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Career 25 12 1–11 229 391 58.6 2,394 6.1 47 16 10 79.4 80 417 5.2 27 3 43 305 5 1

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Jeff Driskel, Hagerty , Dual-Threat Quarterback". 247Sports. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
  2. ^ "Elite 11 | 2010 Elite 11 History". elite-11. Retrieved November 4, 2021.
  3. ^ "Jeff Driskel Maxwell Football Club National High School Player of the Year". Maxwell Football Club. Archived from the original on November 2, 2014. Retrieved October 14, 2014.
  4. ^ "Driskel named state player of the year". The Gainesville Sun. December 2, 2010. Archived from the original on October 18, 2014. Retrieved October 14, 2014.
  5. ^ "Jeff Driskel, 2011 Pro Style Quarterback". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  6. ^ "Jeff Driskel". Scout.com. Archived from the original on September 21, 2011.
  7. ^ DiRocco, Michael (September 3, 2012). "Florida names QB Jeff Driskel starter". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 14, 2014.
  8. ^ Harry, Chris (September 21, 2013). "Gators Lose Driskel for Season; Teammates Disappointed for Junior Signal-Caller". Gator Zone. Archived from the original on September 23, 2013. Retrieved October 14, 2014.
  9. ^ Thompson, Edgar (November 11, 2014). "Gators QB Jeff Driskel embraces new role with team". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  10. ^ "Florida benches QB Jeff Driskel, will start freshman Treon Harris against Georgia next week". FOX News. Associated Press. October 22, 2014. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  11. ^ McMurphy, Brett; Schad, Joe (January 5, 2015). "Ex-Gators QB Driskel transfers to La. Tech". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  12. ^ "Jeff Driskel 2015 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
  13. ^ "Jeff Driskel College Stats". Sports-Reference.com.
  14. ^ DiRocco, Michael (July 4, 2013). "Jeff Driskel of Florida Gators signs contract with Boston Red Sox". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 14, 2014.
  15. ^ "Jeff Driskel". SoxProspects.com. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  16. ^ McGinn, Bob (April 20, 2016). "Rating the NFL draft prospects: Quarterbacks". JSOnline.com. Archived from the original on March 23, 2017. Retrieved June 16, 2018.
  17. ^ "Jeff Driskel Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
  18. ^ "2016 Draft Scout Jeff Driskel, Louisiana Tech NFL Draft Scout College Football Profile". draftscout.com. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
  19. ^ "2016 NFL Draft Listing". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
  20. ^ "Spotrac.com: Jeff Driskel contract". Spotrac.com. Retrieved December 21, 2016.
  21. ^ Florio, Mike (June 12, 2016). "Jeff Driskel, future 49ers starting quarterback?". ProFootballTalk. Retrieved March 19, 2017.
  22. ^ "49ers Release 20 Players, Announce Other Roster Moves". 49ers.com. September 3, 2016. Archived from the original on September 6, 2017.
  23. ^ "Bengals claim quarterback Jeff Driskel off waivers from SF". foxsports.com. September 4, 2016. Retrieved September 4, 2016.
  24. ^ "Bengals Player Moves: Driskel to IR, Toner and Shelton to practice squad". Bengals.com. September 4, 2017. Archived from the original on September 7, 2017.
  25. ^ Sconzo, Alyssa (October 22, 2018). "Bengals vs. Chiefs: Score, results, highlights from Kansas City's win". www.sportingnews.com. Sporting News.
  26. ^ Shapiro, Michael (October 22, 2018). "Bengals place Andy Dalton on injured reserve". SI.com. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
  27. ^ "Cleveland Browns at Cincinnati Bengals – November 25th, 2018". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
  28. ^ "Jeff Driskel 2018 Game Log (Weeks 13–17)". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
  29. ^ "Bengals Announce 53-Man Roster". Bengals.com. August 31, 2019. Archived from the original on August 31, 2019. Retrieved August 31, 2019.
  30. ^ "Bengals Waive Jeff Driskel". Bengals.com. September 11, 2019. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  31. ^ "Lions sign free agent QB Jeff Driskel". DetroitLions.com. September 17, 2019. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  32. ^ Rapoport, Ian (November 10, 2019). "Matthew Stafford (back/hip) out vs. Bears; Jeff Driskel to start". NFL.com. Retrieved November 10, 2019.
  33. ^ "Trubisky, Bears hang on to beat Lions 20–13 as Stafford sits". ESPN.com. Associated Press. November 10, 2019. Retrieved November 10, 2019.
  34. ^ "Cowboys get huge day from Prescott, beat Lions 35–27". ESPN.com. Associated Press. November 17, 2019. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
  35. ^ Rogers, Justin (November 30, 2019). "Lions add Kyle Sloter to QB mix, place Jeff Driskel on IR". The Detroit News. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  36. ^ DiLalla, Aric (March 26, 2020). "QB Jeff Driskel prepared to help Drew Lock, Broncos win games". DenverBroncos.com. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  37. ^ "Denver Broncos at Pittsburgh Steelers – September 20th, 2020". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
  38. ^ "Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Denver Broncos – September 27th, 2020". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
  39. ^ DiLalla, Aric (March 26, 2020). "Fangio: QB Jeff Driskel to be placed on Reserve/COVID-19 list". DenverBroncos.com. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  40. ^ Alper, Josh (December 2, 2020). "Broncos fined quarterbacks for COVID-19 protocol violations". NBCSports.com. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  41. ^ DiLalla, Aric (December 16, 2020). "Broncos sign CB Parnell Motley off 49ers' practice squad, activate Jeff Driskel from Reserve/COVID-19 list". DenverBroncos.com. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  42. ^ DiLalla, Aric (May 3, 2021). "Broncos sign TE Eric Saubert, release QB Jeff Driskel". Denver Broncos. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
  43. ^ "Houston Texans Transactions (5-20-2021)". HoustonTexans.com. May 20, 2021. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  44. ^ "Houston Texans Transactions (8-31-2021)". HoustonTexans.com. August 31, 2021. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  45. ^ "Houston Texans Transactions (9-1-2021)". HoustonTexans.com. September 1, 2021. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  46. ^ "Houston Texans Transactions (10-16-2021)". HoustonTexans.com. October 16, 2021. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  47. ^ "Houston Texans Transactions (12-22-2021)". HoustonTexans.com. December 22, 2021. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  48. ^ "Houston Texans Transactions (3-18-2022)". HoustonTexans.com. March 18, 2022. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  49. ^ "Houston Texans Transactions (8-30-2022)". HoustonTexans.com. August 30, 2022. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  50. ^ "Houston Texans Transactions (8-31-2022)". HoustonTexans.com. August 31, 2022. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  51. ^ "Houston Texans Transactions (12-14-2022)". HoustonTexans.com. December 14, 2022. Retrieved September 2, 2023.
  52. ^ Urban, Darren (April 17, 2023). "Jeff Driskel Joins Competition For Cardinals Starting Quarterback". AZCardinals.com. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
  53. ^ Urban, Darren (August 29, 2023). "Cardinals Make Moves To Get To 53-Man Roster". AZCardinals.com. Retrieved September 2, 2023.
  54. ^ Comeaux, Jonathan (August 30, 2023). "Cardinals Re-Signing QB Jeff Driskel To Practice Squad". Yardbarker. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  55. ^ a b "Jeff Driskel". pro-football-reference.com. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  56. ^ a b Root, Jess (November 4, 2023). "Cardinals add WR Andre Baccellia, QB Jeff Driskel, RB Corey Clement to roster". usatoday.com. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  57. ^ David Smith, Michael. "Browns sign QB Jeff Driskel". NBC Sports. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
  58. ^ "Browns to start Jeff Driskel at QB against Cincinnati Bengals, rest several other starters". USA TODAY. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  59. ^ "Browns to rest Joe Flacco, start QB Jeff Driskel at Cincinnati". Reuters.com. January 3, 2024. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
  60. ^ Whyno, Stephen (April 1, 2024). "Commanders sign journeyman quarterback Jeff Driskel". AP News. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
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