AFC South

Houston Texans quarterback Jeff Driskel is pulling a Tim Tebow. 

Texans tight ends coach Andy Bischoff told reporters Thursday that Driskel is making the switch to tight end, adding that the 28-year-old is "a rare athlete." Houston believes Driskel has "the speed and size" to successfully make the switch. 

Bischoff also told reporters Driskel could contribute on special teams but wouldn't predict when the former sixth-round pick would be active. 

"We're more looking at this as a developmental process," he said. 

Bischoff added that Driskel is in the tight end room full time and is also in special teams meetings. The decision was sparked in a meeting between Bischoff, head coach David Culley and general manager Nick Caserio. 

In 15 career games, Driskel has 53 carries for 309 yards and three touchdowns. Doug Kyed of Pro Football Focus also noted he has just one six-yard catch in his NFL career. 

Driskel ran a 4.56-second 40-yard dash with a 7.19-second 3-cone drill, 4.25-second short shuttle, 32-inch vertical leap and 10-2 broad jump coming out of college. He has 53 carries for 309 yards, three TDs, one 6-yard catch in his NFL career. https://t.co/G83qVueR88

— Doug Kyed (@DougKyed) November 18, 2021

The former Florida and Louisiana Tech product is 1-8 as a quarterback, completing 58.6 percent of his passes for 2,120 yards and 13 touchdowns against eight interceptions.

It's unclear how well Driskel will do with the move. Tebow's experiment at tight end with the Jacksonville Jaguars over the summer failed miserably, and he's also considered very athletic, having also played in the New York Mets minor league system. 

Driskel was never going to make it in Houston's system as a quarterback behind Tyrod Taylor and Davis Mills. He stands more a chance as a tight end as the Texans only have Pharoah Brown, Jordan Akins, Brevin Jordan and Antony Auclair at the position.

Houston's tight ends have combined for just 382 yards and two touchdowns this season, so it's really no surprise the Texans are willing to give Driskel a shot. However, if he is unable to successfully transition, the franchise might decide to move on as he's playing on a one-year deal.  

Kliff Kingsbury. Brandon Staley. Sean McVay. Mike Vrabel. Matt LaFleur. Bill Belichick. 

Those are the names most commonly brought up in NFL Coach of the Year conversations—yet they all pale in comparison to the Tennessee Titans' Vrabel. 

Vrabel, somewhat quietly thanks to a strange AFC, is like a Hollywood blockbuster script's idea of a coach of the year through 10 weeks. His team has won eight games already, sprinting out to the No. 1 seed in the conference. 

The Titans have endured more setbacks than most teams this season. They have won six in a row, the NFL's top current streak, and are 6-0 against teams that made the playoffs last season (7-0 accounting for a sweep of Indianapolis). 

Those numbers would be impressive before looping in the dramatic setbacks. But the Titans have already cycled through a stunning 82 players, which is close to an NFL record—set by teams over the course of 16 games. 

Sports Illustrated's John Glennon put this into context: 

#Titans' Vrabel: Team has used 82 players this year. The NFL record -- for a full year -- is 84.

— John Glennon (@glennonsports) November 15, 2021

The last teams to reach that mark were San Francisco in 2020 and Miami in 2019—the former finished 6-10, the latter 5-11. Vrabel's squad is 8-2 and not just dominating a conference but teams with recent playoff resumes. 

Chief among the losses, of course, is star running back and borderline MVP candidate Derrick Henry. Over eight games, he rushed for 937 yards and 10 touchdowns on a 4.3 yards-per-carry average, putting him in range of 2,000-plus yards for a second consecutive season. 

Since Henry went down in Week 8 with a foot injury that could keep him out for the rest of the regular season, the Titans haven't mustered 300 yards of offense in a game. Since his injury, the offense has totaled just 135 rushing yards on a 2.5 yards-per-carry average over its last two games. 

Henry is one of the double-digit names that comprises one of the NFL's biggest injured reserve lists, though. 2021 first-round corner Caleb Farley is there. So is star wideout Julio Jones. Not that names have to be on the list to be noteworthy, though—star pass-rusher Bud Dupree, after joining from the Pittsburgh Steelers in free agency, has appeared in just seven games and left his most recent outing after one snap. 

The losses extend beyond the simple, too. Quarterback Ryan Tannehill lost offensive coordinator Arthur Smith in the offseason. The coach's work with the veteran passer last year helped him earn the head coaching gig with the Atlanta Falcons, a team off to a 4-5 start.

But Tannehill hasn't skipped much of a beat, completing 66.5 percent of his passes with 12 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He's not a statsheet stuffer, but the efficiency even without Henry to take pressure off explains the 89.5 Pro Football Focus grade, placing him just a hair under the "elite" category.

As The Athletic's Ben Baldwin pointed out, he's still thriving despite a miserable showing by the line in front of him: 

I'm not sure people are fully appreciating what Ryan Tannehill is doing this season.

After yesterday, the Titans have 3rd-worst pass block grade and these are the skill position players he's working with.

And he's still No. 10 in EPA/play, similar to Josh Allen & Aaron Rodgers pic.twitter.com/cMgce1a3Mp

— Computer Cowboy (@benbbaldwin) November 15, 2021

So what has Vrabel done since Henry went down? For one, "he treats every single week differently," as star safety Kevin Byard told Rich Eisen on the Rich Eisen Show recently. That sounds like a little thing, but other teams that don't adapt what they do on a weekly basis, particularly hot starters that cool off once opponents get fresh film to start a season, generally do worse. 

The Titans don't have that problem because of Vrabel's approach, surely learned under Belichick in New England as a player. And, in general, the team already flashed this malleable ability to line up with anyone and win with various personnel in Week 8, an overtime escape of Indianapolis. Henry got stuffed for 68 yards on a 2.4 per-carry average, but the defense picked off two passes to seal the win. 

That's not a lone example. In Week 7, it was all about the defense in a 27-3 rout of Kansas City that had some questioning whether Patrick Mahomes' regression was permanent. 

Zooming back, this isn't anything new for Vrabel. He helped yank the Titans out of the Marcus Mariota era, took on Tannehill—who nobody wanted—and slowly rebuilt the program. This past offseason, he nailed two tough coordinator decisions, with Todd Downing taking over the offense and Shane Bowen the defense. Both were internal promotions. 

We could nitpick about the fact the AFC is an unpredictable mess where nobody seems to want to emerge as the front-runner. The AFC South is laughably soft again, with Indianapolis at .500 and both Houston and Jacksonville combining for three wins. Tennessee caught the Chiefs in the middle of their tailspin, New Orleans with a backup quarterback and even lost to the two-win New York Jets. Loosened practice squad call-up rules in the last two seasons might help inflate the number of players used too. 

But at this rate, there's no reason to think anything can stop the Titans. They're at eight wins already and boast the league's easiest remaining schedule. New England and Pittsburgh are tough opponents, but the Titans have overcome tougher opponents already, and if all else fails, games against Jacksonville, San Francisco, Miami and two against Houston will butter up the record. 

There's no doubt Kingsbury has been impressive for the 8-2 Cardinals in a brutal NFC West. But he's got the luxury of going all-in with a Madden-esque roster. Staley has worked wonders with Justin Herbert's development, McVay is McVay, now with Matthew Stafford, LaFleur has the Packers at eight wins while navigating some quarterback drama and Belichick is dragging the Patriots to AFC East contention with first-round passer Mac Jones. 

But none of that is as impressive as Vrabel's sprint to eight wins. Not when considering the wealth of injuries. Not when factoring in the difficulty of the schedule and the consistency in overcoming it. Heck, Vrabel's dominating the league with a downhill-based rushing attack and opportunistic defense in the era of the passing game while being malleable enough to line up against anyone. 

Generally, these awards go to coaches who overcome expectations, and that works against the Titans a little bit. Most expected they'd contend, because of a weak division if nothing else. But the Henry injury and the spotlight it helps point on the stunning number of ailments helps form an irresistible narrative, especially if they cruise through the rest of this season. 

Few teams have faced more adversity than the Titans, and if the performance on the field is a reflection of the coach's identity within the program he's building, Vrabel's the coach of the year in a competition that isn't up for debate much at all.

The first-ever midseason edition of HBO's Hard Knocks premiered Wednesday, with the series taking a look at the Indianapolis Colts.

This edition picked up after the Colts moved to 4-5 following their 45-30 win over the New York Jets on Nov. 4.

The episode opened with a recap of how the Colts got here, with highlights including running back Jonathan Taylor's excellent season and lowlights such as Indianapolis' blown leads against the Baltimore Ravens and Tennessee Titans.

The biggest focus of the first episode was on quarterback Carson Wentz and linebacker Darius Leonard.

Head coach Frank Reich talking about the connection he and Wentz have had since the 2016 predraft process, when Reich was the Philadelphia Eagles' offensive coordinator.

The two men bonded over their Christian faith and specifically a Bible verse, 1 Peter 3:15. Reich recited it to Wentz during a predraft meeting, and the former North Dakota State star happened to have it on his cellphone screensaver.

Reich became the Colts' coach in 2018 and took Wentz along with him in 2021 after the Eagles decided to make Jalen Hurts their QB1.

Elsewhere, Wentz and his wife, Madison, welcomed their second daughter (Hudson Rose). NFL Films caught up with the couple and their first daughter, Hadley, at home in the days leading up to the team's Sunday matchup at home against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

As noted in news reports last week and again during Hard Knocks, the plan was for Wentz to play against the Jags even if the baby was born Sunday. She was not, and Hudson was born Tuesday after induced labor.

Seven Colt players were expecting children at the time, and that doesn't include punter Rigoberto Sanchez, whose wife Cynthia gave birth recently.

This episode also featured a pair of gender reveals, as center Ryan Kelly with wife Emma and guard Mark Glowinski with wife Alexis had theirs on the Lucas Oil Stadium field. The Jumbotron above the field revealed that both couples would be having girls.

Whole lotta Colts are getting ready to have kids, and a whole bunch of the babies are girls. Fun gender reveal for the Kellys and the Glowinskis at Lucas Oil

— Joel A. Erickson (@JoelAErickson) November 18, 2021

Nyheim Hines also got to meet his idol, Tavon Austin, who he used to watch play at West Virginia. The amusing clip featured Hines attempting to figure out if it was truly Austin, explaining how he always watched his highlights and then meeting his fellow offensive playmaker:

Nyheim Hines meeting his idol Tavon Austin is the most wholesome thing you'll see today. 🤗 #HardKnocks In Season with the @Colts is streaming now on @HBOMax pic.twitter.com/RfZGyBFnnT

— NFL Films (@NFLFilms) November 18, 2021

This episode also took a look at the heart and soul of the Colts defense (and team) in Leonard, who was shown arriving at the facility:

A ride fit for a Maniac 🚗#HardKnocks | @dsleon45 pic.twitter.com/hYFHI0h729

— NFL Films (@NFLFilms) November 18, 2021

Leonard got banged up during the Jags game, which naturally worried his wife, Kayla, who was at the game. Thankfully, Leonard was OK, and he was shown hanging out with Kayla and his two children postgame.

This is now a Mia stan account. 💙 #HardKnocks pic.twitter.com/aOxahwfhuw

— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) November 18, 2021

Leonard is listed on this week's injury report with ankle and hand injuries, and he did not practice Wednesday.

However, he sounded like a player ready to roll Sunday after he told the cameras he was going to watch film of their next opponent, the Buffalo Bills, that evening.

Other highlights included team owner Jim Irsay leading the Colts in a rendition of Queen's "We Will Rock You" after their win over the San Francisco 49ers.

OK @JimIrsay leading the "We Will Rock You" chant in the locker room was worth the wait...

— Zak Keefer (@zkeefer) November 18, 2021

Taylor's Fox NFL cartoon was also up for discussion.

"Y'all see how big his arms are on the cartoon?"

Don’t underestimate the size of @jayt23’s arms 😂#HardKnocks In Season with the @Colts premieres tonight 10pm on @hbomax pic.twitter.com/mfZSz5Dfhn

— NFL (@NFL) November 18, 2021

This Hard Knocks series will air every Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET until the week after the Colts' season is complete.

Next week's episode will feature the team's big road showdown at the AFC East-leading Buffalo Bills, who took down the Colts 27-24 in the AFC Wild Card Round last year.

Tennessee Titans linebacker Bud Dupree suffered an abdominal injury in Sunday's game against the New Orleans Saints.

Dupree spent the first six years of his NFL career with the Pittsburgh Steelers before signing a five-year contract with the Titans in free agency during the offseason.

Tennessee paid up for the 28-year-old veteran despite the fact that he was coming off a torn ACL suffered during Week 12 of the 2020 season.

So far in his first season as a member of the Titans, Dupree has registered seven total tackles, one sack and one forced fumble.

Dupree broke out in a big way in 2019 with a career-high 11.5 sacks after failing to post more than six in any of his first four NFL seasons.

The former University of Kentucky standout was on pace to top that production last season with eight sacks through 11 games, but the aforementioned knee injury cut his year short and created some uncertainty with regard to what the market would be for him in free agency.

Even though it was far from guaranteed that he would be ready for the start of the 2021 regular season, the Titans rolled the dice and signed him in hopes of making a big improvement to their pass rush.

The decision to sign Jadeveon Clowney during the previous offseason didn't pay the type of dividends Tennessee had envisioned since he was ravaged by injuries, prompting the Titans to go back to the drawing board with Dupree.

While Dupree is a big loss for Tennessee if he is forced to miss time, the Titans aren't completely devoid of pass-rushing talent without him.

Harold Landry III, who entered the 2021 season with a combined 14.5 sacks over the past two years, will primarily be looked upon to elevate his game while Dupree is out.

The Titans will also lean more heavily on defensive linemen Denico Autry and Jeffery Simmons from a pass-rushing perspective if Dupree lands on the shelf.

Tennessee Titans wide receiver Julio Jones' ailing hamstring will keep him out for at least three games, leading fantasy football managers to question how the status of A.J. Brown and Nick Westbrook-Ikhine will be affected going forward.

The Titans announced Saturday that they placed Jones on injured reserve.

Brown is an easy enough projection. He was already ahead of Jones in the pecking order and is a solid WR2 with WR1 upside. If anything, more targets should be heading his way. He'll continue to be Tennessee's top option in the passing game.

Things get pretty bleak for the Titans' receiving corps after Brown.

Not having Jones and Derrick Henry, who is still recovering from foot surgery, could dramatically alter the way Tennessee's offense operates. The unit only had 194 total yards in last week's 28-16 win over the Los Angeles Rams.

Looking ahead to Sunday, the Titans are taking on a New Orleans Saints defense that ranks third in Football Outsiders' total DVOA and 13th in pass DVOA.

Westbrook-Ikhine had a decent fantasy game in Week 3 against the Indianapolis Colts when Brown left early because of a hamstring injury. The 24-year-old caught all four of his targets for 53 yards and one touchdown.

Since that game, though, Westbrook-Ikhine has only had 86 yards and one touchdown on nine receptions.

Betting on anyone from the Titans aside from Brown to produce is a dangerous proposition. Wait to see how much attention Westbrook-Ikhine gets from Ryan Tannehill on Sunday before deciding whether to even add him to your roster.

Tennessee Titans wide receiver Julio Jones suffered has been placed on injured reserve with a hamstring injury, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported Saturday.

Jones will now miss at least Tennessee's next three games against the New Orleans Saints, Houston Texans and New England Patriots. 

The 32-year-old also missed the Titans' Week 8 matchup against the Indianapolis Colts because of a hamstring ailment. It was the third game he had missed this season.

Jones first suffered the hamstring issue during Week 3 against the Colts and didn't return until Week 6 against the Buffalo Bills. In six games this season, he has 21 catches for 336 yards, which ranks second on the team, and no touchdowns. 

The seven-time Pro Bowler was traded to the Titans from the Atlanta Falcons in June. Tennessee's goal was to pair him with A.J. Brown after losing Corey Davis to the New York Jets in free agency. 

With Jones sidelined, the Titans will rely on Brown, Chester Rogers and Nick Westbrook-Ikhine out wide. Brown leads the team with 40 catches for 551 yards and three touchdowns in eight games. 

Jones's injury comes at a particularly tough time for the Titans, who are also without Derrick Henry. The star running back underwent foot surgery earlier this month and it's unclear when he might return. 

The Titans are 7-2 on the season and primed to make another run in the playoffs. However, if they want to get out of the first round, they'll need Jones to be fully healthy.

Tennessee Titans wide receiver A.J. Brown spoke about his experiences with anxiety and depression and implored others to protect their mental health and seek help in a video posted on social media Friday.

His Instagram caption read as follows:

Depression is real, anxiety is real . Be there for someone because someone was there for me. God told told him all the right things to say to me that night. Take depression seriously. Take how you feel and how you handle situations seriously. Life happens to all of us but your not too tough to talk to someone and get things off your chest. Life is a beautiful thing and everyone should be able to live it to the fullest.

Brown also said he thought about taking his own life a year ago Friday. 

"I had no more hope for better days and everything was just going wrong for me," Brown said.

Brown closed with an encouraging message to those suffering with advice on how to handle depression and anxiety.

I just want to encourage everyone to protect your mental, talk to someone, get things off your chest, do things that make you happy. It's so important. I didn't think depression was real until it happened to me, but now I know it's really real. Guys, just talk to someone, get things off your chest, and take depression serious.

The ex-Ole Miss star is the top wideout on a 7-2 Titans team that leads the AFC. The three-year NFL veteran began his career with a pair of 1,000-yard seasons, earning a Pro Bowl nod in 2020. He has 40 catches for 551 yards and three scores this year.

   

If you or someone you know is in immediate crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 for 24/7 access to a trained counselor. You can also contact the Crisis Text Line by texting "HOME" to 741741. For more information about ongoing support and mental health resources, contact the HelpLine at the National Alliance on Mental Illness by calling 1-800-950-NAMI (6264) or emailing info@nami.org.

The Miami Dolphins apparently were at least willing to meet the Houston Texans' asking price for Deshaun Watson.

Fox Sports' Jay Glazer (via Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald) reported the Dolphins were prepared to put three first-round picks and two second-round picks on the table for Watson. However, the deal was contingent on Watson settling his 22 civil lawsuits tied to allegations of sexual assault and misconduct.

NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported Nov. 7 that Houston was looking for "five or six assets" for the three-time Pro Bowler, including three first-rounders, and that multiple teams were ready to pay up.

However, Watson's current legal situation precluded any trade from happening. In addition to his civil suits, 10 women filed complaints with Houston police that remain unresolved.

Tony Buzbee, who represents the 22 plaintiffs in the civil cases, told Fox 26 Houston that "at some point the Dolphins wanted 22 settlements." He added his clients were asked to agree to a "very, very robust non-disclosure agreement" and that he wasn't sure whether Watson or the Dolphins were behind that pursuit.

Miami general manager Chris Grier denied the team engaged in any such negotiations.

"Any suggestion that this organization would be dealing behind the scenes and trying to influence decisions is absolutely ridiculous and categorically false," he said. "So, to say that we would be involved in that is just flat wrong."

Trying and failing to land Watson has put the Dolphins in a somewhat tough position since they're less than two full years removed from selecting Tua Tagovailoa in the NFL draft. Grier denied the trade negotiations were a reflection of how the franchise views the young quarterback:

#Dolphins General Manager Chris Grier said the franchise did their due diligence on the Deshaun Watson trade and he at end of the day a deal didn’t get done, but franchise still believes in Tua Tagovailoa. pic.twitter.com/FXI9KMq7pi

— Omar Kelly (@OmarKelly) November 3, 2021

But a team that has faith in its current QB presumably wouldn't pursue Watson in the first place, especially given his current situation.

With the 2021 trade deadline passed, Miami is unable to return to the bargaining table until the offseason.

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Carson Wentz is focused on this week's game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. So focused, in fact, that he doesn't plan on missing the game for the birth of his second child.

Wentz's wife, Madison, is quickly approaching her due date for the couple's second daughter. Wentz said the two of them discussed the possibility of the baby being born at the same time as Sunday's game, and they agreed that he should make the start regardless.

"If it comes down to the game, I told my wife 'I’m playing, and then I’ll come see you at the hospital afterwards,'" Wentz said, per USA Today. "She knew that. She’s been great. … I think God will time it up the way it’s supposed to be timed."

Wentz and the Colts (4-5) are looking to build on the momentum of last week's 45-30 victory over the New York Jets. Indianapolis has the opportunity to get back to .500 with a win over Jacksonville before a matchup against AFC powerhouse Buffalo Bills in Week 11.

Jacksonville Jaguars rookie Trevor Lawrence will be limited this week because of a low ankle sprain, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.

The 2021 No. 1 pick exited Jacksonville's 9-6 Week 9 victory over the Buffalo Bills but quickly returned to the game. Head coach Urban Meyer confirmed he was battling a low ankle sprain.

According to Rapoport, X-rays were negative on the ankle, but the quarterback will continue to receive treatment ahead of the Week 10 game against the Indianapolis Colts. 

Sunday's win was a bright spot in a season that hasn't gone according to plan for the former Clemson star.

Lawrence was almost universally considered the best and most pro-ready QB in the 2021 draft class. He has struggled this season, throwing for 1,821 yards, eight touchdowns and nine interceptions through eight games.

Any playoff hopes the Jaguars had evaporated with an 0-5 start. Losing Lawrence for any stretch of time won't impact the team in that regard. The gap between him and backup C.J. Beathard may not be that wide either.

But no head coach is ever happy to see his franchise quarterback go down with an injury, even if the problem proves to be minor like in the case of Lawrence's sprained ankle.