The Detroit Lions’ backup QB situation is a mess
The Detroit Lions are set with their starting quarterback Jared Goff. But the team has had a lot of questions about who would be Goff’s backup. Quarterback David Blough, a media darling figure in this year’s season of HBO’s Hard Knocks, was cut from the Lions’ first 53-man roster. He then went to the Minnesota Vikings, who cut Kellen Mond.
The Lions had tried out Tim Boyle as a potential backup during training camp. Boyle, a former Packers quarterback from 2018-2020, had played for the Lions in 2021. Boyle was also cut from the Lions’ first 53-man roster.
The Lions seemed to be unhappy with both Boyle and Bough during the preseason. Per Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, the Lions had a bit of drama going on with their backup quarterback situation:
The Lions offered Blough a spot on their practice squad as their No. 3 quarterback, but he declined and signed with the Minnesota Vikings instead.
Lions general manager Brad Holmes said a change at backup quarterback was necessary because Boyle and Blough “just didn’t quite make the jump that we expected them to make.”
“We had a plan in place for the backup quarterback position and it kind of took a detour that was unexpected, but you got to be prepared for that and we just kind of made it work the best way we can,” Holmes said.
Reports came out Monday that Boyle has been re-signed to the Lions. It appears Holmes’ comments didn’t offend Boyle enough to warrant his rejection of the Lions’ offer. According to NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero, Boyle will be a Lions’ practice squad member.
The #Lions are re-signing QB Tim Boyle to their practice squad, per source.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) September 5, 2022
Boyle hasn’t played much in the regular season during his career
Boyle was an undrafted free agent when he signed with the Packers in 2018. Through four seasons, Boyle has played in 16 games. He completed three passes for 15 passes and threw no touchdowns during his time with the Packers.
Boyle will be in the quarterback room with Goff and Lions’ recent addition Nate Sudfeld. It’ll be interesting to see who wins the quarterback backup battle in the next few weeks between Boyle and Sudfeld.
