(SportsRadio 610) - As bad as the Texans have been this season, it can't hurt to try some new things. They might as well experiment. At 1-8 and very few players who look to be part of their future, why not spice it up a bit?
So Texans general manager Nick Caserio and head coach David Culley are turning their third-string quarterback into a tight end.
Jeff Driskel, 28, makes the move in his sixth NFL season. He's played in 15 games at quarterback, starting in nine of them in previous stints with the Cincinnati Bengals, Detroit Lions and Denver Broncos.
Driskel, who signed a one-year, $990,000 contract with Houston this offseason, is 1-8 as a starter with 13 touchdown passes and eight interceptions for his career. He's spent most of this season on the Texans' practice squad, with veteran Tyrod Taylor and rookie Davis Mills taking all the snaps at quarterback.
Texans tight end coach Andy Bischoff called Driskel a great athlete who is excited to coach.
Driskel, at 6'4", 235 pounds, would not be the first former Florida Gators quarterback to become a tight end in the NFL.
Tim Tebow tried it most recently in Jacksonville with Urban Meyer. Trey Burton and Jordan Reed, who switched to tight end while still at Floriday, are the more successful examples.
"You've seen it happen in this league a lot," Bischoff told reporters Thursday. "A guy who is trying to find his way. They're all on a journey. We're excited to have him. He'll make a play a day that turns somebody's eyes. So we're just excited to help him make that transition."
Bischoff went on to call Driskel "a rare athlete" who is smart, has great hands and is a willing blocker with traits you don't often see at quarterback.
Driskel ran the 40-yard dash in 4.56 seconds five years ago at the NFL Scouting Combine.