(SportsRadio 610) -- Texans pass rusher Whitney Mercilus is changing positions for the first time in his NFL career.
Now entering his 10th season, Mercilus is going from playing as a 3-4 outside linebacker to a 4-3 defensive end. He has not played every down with his hand in the dirt since college days at Illinois.
As part of defensive coordinator Lovie Smith's scheme, Mercilus will be expected to bring pressure as part of the Texans' four-man rush. He will also be expected to play lighter, Smith said earlier this week.
Mercilus is coming off his worst season for any in which he played more than five games. The former second-team All-Pro had four sacks, just seven quarterback hits, 21 tackles and did not force a fumble for the first time since his second season in 2013.
The schematic change could help Mercilus find a resurgence.
"With this profile on what we’re looking for, Whitney can run, he can rush off the edge," Smith said. "We start with that with our up front guys. In an ideal world – some places say, ‘hey, to get pressure, we’ve got to blitz.’ We start off saying that we need to be able to get pressure with our four-man rush and a part of that is our outside guys being able to win. Whitney has proven in his time in the NFL that he can win on the outside. He’s in good shape right now. He’s going to play lighter than he played last year.
"That body type has had success in our system. We talked about a lot of the young players, but to have an older player that’s done it the right way and has been a great Texan, so I’m excited about him, too. He’s going to have a good year for us."
Defensive line coach Bobby King said Mercilus looked pretty natural in the position and hitting the sleds during organized training activities, with the caveat they have not yet faced the offensive linemen.