Tag: Tim Boyle

Tim Boyle has a broken thumb, status for 2021 uncertain

Coach Campbell revealed that Boyle broke his thumb in the preseason finale and is having surgery on Monday

After sputtering for most of training camp and the preseason, Lions backup quarterback Tim Boyle put together a fantastic scoring drive on Detroit’s second possession in the exhibition game against the Indianapolis Colts on Friday night. Amazingly enough, Boyle directed the 14-play drive with a broken thumb on his throwing hand.

Lions head coach Dan Campbell revealed on Monday that Boyle suffered a broken thumb in the preseason finale. Boyle injured the right thumb when he was bowled under on a sack that ended the Lions’ first possession. Per Campbell, Boyle is having surgery on Monday.

Despite the injury, Campbell did not rule out Boyle from returning in 2021. He remains on the team’s roster after the first wave of roster cutdown moves.

Boyle was signed this offseason to compete with David Blough for the backup QB position behind Jared Goff. Blough played well enough to earn the spot, but Boyle’s strong finish showed why the Lions chased the ex-Packers reserve in free agency.

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Lions injury update: 10 players sit out practice No. 15

It might be time to start worrying a little more about D’Andre Swift…

There might be 85 players on the Detroit Lions roster after the flurrying roster activity on Tuesday, but only 75 were active at practice.

A full 10 players were idled from practice on Tuesday night, the final training camp practice session open to the public.

The players who were out, in alphabetical order:

  • DT Miles Brown (undisclosed injury)
  • OL Tyrell Crosby (hamstring)
  • CB Corn Elder (leg)
  • DE Da’Shawn Hand (ankle)
  • TE T.J. Hockenson (hip)
  • RB Dedrick Mills (undisclosed)
  • NT John Penisini (lower body)
  • RB D’Andre Swift (groin)
  • DT Nick Williams (COVID-19)
  • TE Brock Wright (undisclosed)

Swift appeared worse for the wear on Tuesday night. After participating in light conditioning work on Monday, Swift was completely idled for Tuesday’s practice. That’s not a good sign of progress, unfortunately.

In addition to the players who were out, backup QB Tim Boyle was extremely limited in practice. Boyle suffered an ankle injury in the preseason loss to the Buffalo Bills and is sporting a brace on the ankle. The Lions signed QB Jordan Ta’amu to help take reps for Boyle and third-stringer David Blough, who is actively participating but dealing with shoulder tightness.

The good news: second-round DE Levi Onwuzurike was a full participant for the first time all summer, and he bagged a sack on the very first rep of team drills.

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Lions roster bubble watch: Updating after two weeks of training camp

How the Lions roster bubble battles sit after two weeks of training camp

One of the bigger chores for new Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell is to whittle down the 90-mna roster to the final 53 players who will represent the team in Week 1. The first 10 sessions of training camp have shifted some of the bubble battles in the quest to make the Lions.

Not every roster spot is up for grabs, but there are a few key competitions and positions where uncertainty prevails. Here’s where those battles sit after the first two weeks of Lions training camp.

Aaron Rodgers, Packers drama continues to boil over

The drama between MVP QB Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers keeps getting hotter

While the Detroit Lions kick off their rebuild under head coach Dan Campbell in hopes of turning the franchise around, one of the team’s biggest rivals is teetering on the brink of an epic collapse.

The ongoing feud between reigning NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers, the team he’s starred with for over a decade, continues to boil over. Rodgers’ very public dissatisfaction with the Packers management and decision-making process threatens to bring an end to one of the greatest eras of all time.

It is still unknown if Rodgers will even play for the Packers in 2021. A variety of issues with the only franchise he’s ever known have bothered the notoriously irritable quarterback enough that he’s strongly considering just walking away. Even some of his close teammates aren’t sure if Rodgers will be back, and they’re not shy about speaking on it publicly either.

The fire under the kettle got hotter with this tweet on Tuesday morning from ESPN’s Adam Schefter,

Rodgers has groused about various moves in recent years, but the big beef stems from drafting Utah State QB Jordan Love in the first round of the 2020 NFL draft without consulting Rodgers himself. Love was unable to beat out Tim Boyle for the No. 2 QB job as a rookie, and Boyle is now no safe bet to top David Blough as Detroit’s backup behind Jared Goff after fleeing in free agency.

This offseason has seen Rodgers fare relatively well as a guest host on Jeopardy and take an extended Hawaiian vacation with his starlet fiancee. He’s done very little to stop the boiling kettle from whistling discord, and that leaves the Packers in very real peril of falling from Super Bowl contender to potential last-place team almost overnight.

Lions sign QB Tim Boyle to a one-year deal

Boyle has been the No. 3 QB in Green Bay for the last three years

The Detroit Lions added another quarterback to the mix late on Wednesday. The team has signed former Packers backup Tim Boyle to a free agent contract.

Per Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network, Boyle will get $2.5 million for one year to jump from Green Bay to Detroit.

Boyle, 26, has spent the last three seasons with the Packers in a reserve role, serving as the No. 3 QB behind Aaron Rodgers and a couple of backups in DeShone Kizer and Jordan Love. He has completed three of his four career pass attempts, all in 2019.

He joins a Lions team that just released 2020 backup, Chase Daniel. His contract dictates that he enters the depth chart at No. 2 behind Jared Goff and ahead of third-stringer David Blough.

Former Packers QB Tim Boyle signs 1-year deal with Lions

The backup quarterback in Green Bay over the last two seasons is following Jamaal Williams to Detroit. 

The backup quarterback in Green Bay over the last two seasons is following Jamaal Williams to Detroit.

According to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network, former Packers quarterback Tim Boyle is signing with the Lions. Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports the deal is for one year and worth $2.5 million, with a $1 million signing bonus.

Boyle joins Williams as Packers free agents signing with the Lions on Wednesday.

An undrafted free agent out of Connecticut, Boyle spent three years with the Packers, including two years as the primary backup behind Aaron Rodgers. He beat out DeShone Kizer in 2019 and Jordan Love in 2020.

Boyle was a restricted free agent but did not receive a tender from the Packers, making him unrestricted and free to sign with any team to start the new league year.

In Detroit, Boyle will get a chance to be the primary backup behind Jared Goff, who was traded to the Lions in exchange for long-time starter Matthew Stafford in January.

Boyle played in 11 games for the Packers over the last two seasons, mostly to kneel down to end games. He completed three passes for 15 yards.

With a big arm, flashes of playmaking ability from the pocket during the preseason, three years of working under Aaron Rodgers and two years of experience in Matt LaFleur’s offense, Boyle has an intriguing skill set for a Lions team looking to rebuild the quarterback position.

Love, the Packers’ first-round pick in 2020, will be the backup quarterback behind Rodgers in 2021. He was inactive as the No. 3 quarterback for all 16 games last season.

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Packers won’t offer restricted free agent tender to QB Tim Boyle

Tim Boyle, the Packers’ backup QB each of the last two seasons, will become an unrestricted free agent and could leave Green Bay.

The Tim Boyle era could be coming to an end in Green Bay.

According to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network, the Packers won’t be offering a tender to restricted free agent quarterback Tim Boyle, meaning he’ll become an unrestricted free agent when the new league year opens next Wednesday.

The way Garafolo describes the situation, the Packers are ready to let Boyle depart and comfortable turning over backup quarterback duties to 2020 first-round pick Jordan Love, who was inactive as the No. 3 quarterback in every game last season.

Boyle made the 53-man roster as an undrafted free agent in 2018 and was the primary backup in Green Bay behind Aaron Rodgers for the last two seasons. He appeared in 11 games, mostly for end-of-game responsibilities. He completed three of four passes for 15 yards in 2019 and rushed 18 times for -16 yards over the last two seasons combined, with the lost yardage coming as a result of kneel-downs.

As an unrestricted free agent, Boyle will be free to sign with any team. Any franchise looking for a developmental backup with ties to Matt LaFleur’s offensive scheme could be interested in adding Boyle, who flashed a big arm and some playmaking ability from the pocket during preseason and training camps in Green Bay.

The Packers could still bring back Boyle at a more palatable price than the restricted free agent tenders, but this scenario looks unlikely, especially if the team is truly ready for Love to be the No. 2 quarterback. General manager Brian Gutekunst could add another developmental quarterback to be the No. 3 quarterback in the draft or college free agency.

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Brian Gutekunst ‘very confident’ Packers could win games with QB Tim Boyle

The Packers GM said he’s very confident the Packers could win games if QB Aaron Rodgers went down and backup Tim Boyle had to play.

The general manager of the Green Bay Packers doesn’t want to entertain the thought of Aaron Rodgers suffering an injury and missing games, but Brian Gutekunst remains confident his team could win regular-season games with quarterback Tim Boyle, who must be considered the favorite to back up Rodgers to start the 2020 season.

Boyle has made a strong impression to start his third year in the NFL.

“With Aaron back there, you kind of hope you never have to go that route, but if we did, I feel very confident we can win games with Tim Boyle,” Gutekunst said Friday.

Boyle, an undrafted free agent who has been on the roster each of the last two seasons, won the job as the top backup to Rodgers over DeShone Kizer last season but didn’t start a game as the Packers went 13-3 and advanced to the NFC title game. Now, he’s spending his summer competing with Jordan Love, the team’s first-round draft choice and the likely future at quarterback after Rodgers.

Boyle won’t get a preseason to impress Gutekunst and his staff, but the Packers already see an improving player who will be hard for Love to displace as a rookie.

“I think Tim has done an outstanding job,” Gutekunst said. “He has continued to grow. He’s had a really, really good start. I think we expected that. Tim has a lot of talent. I think his future is really bright here.”

The Packers are still three weeks away from playing the Minnesota Vikings in the season opener, but Boyle looks entrenched as the top backup and a great bet to make the Week 1 roster. Having a No. 2 quarterback with experience in Matt LaFleur’s offense could allow the Packers to take it slow with Love’s development.

Boyle might not be the future of the franchise at the game’s most important position, but the Packers are still happy to have him.

“We’re excited about him,” Gutekunst said. “He’s taken every opportunity he’s had so far this year and really grown from where he was last year, and I thought last year was pretty good. He’s proven himself day in and day out. Glad we have him.”

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Packers coach Matt LaFleur expecting to keep 3 QBs on 2020 roster

The Packers cut rookie Jalen Morton, leaving Tim Boyle and Jordan Love as the two backups behind Aaron Rodgers. Matt LaFleur explained why.

Cutting undrafted free agent quarterback Jalen Morton was a necessary decision in a training camp environment affected by the coronavirus, especially when the Green Bay Packers have three quarterbacks they’re expecting to make the roster in 2020.

Coach Matt LaFleur explained the decision to release Morton, who was signed out of Prairie View A&M in April to be the team’s fourth quarterback, noting how hard it can be to get four passers the right amount of reps during the summer, especially without preseason games.

“Right now, we’re at 80 (players) in the building, so that played a part in it,” LaFleur said during a Zoom call with reporters on Thursday. “Certainly, the lack of preseason games. Anytime, throughout a training camp, it’s really, really difficult to get four guys reps. Especially meaningful reps and you can see that improvement.”

LaFleur said he’d like Aaron Rodgers, Tim Boyle and first-round pick Jordan Love to make the team as the roster’s three quarterbacks. Any reps given to Morton during an abbreviated training camp practice period before the regular season would have been lost reps for both Boyle and Love.

“With the three guys, we wanted to focus on the three we know we’re going to have, I believe, on our roster,” LaFleur said.

Boyle, an undrafted free agent from UConn, beat out DeShone Kizer to be the team’s backup quarterback last summer. He’ll have a good opportunity to remain the backup in 2020 after Love, the 26th overall pick, missed the entire in-person part of the offseason workout program. It’s possible LaFleur and GM Brian Gutekunst will want Boyle around as the No. 2 while Love learns without being one snap away from the field, at least in the short term.

Boyle, who is now in his second season in LaFleur’s offense, played in three games last season, completing three of four passes for 15 yards and kneeling down five times. As a rookie in 2018, he made the team as the No. 3 quarterback. The Packers kept only two quarterbacks on the active roster in 2019.

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Future QB Rankings: Rating all 32 NFL teams’ situations from worst to best

Touchdown Wire ranks the 32 NFL teams in terms of stability and potential at the game’s most important position over the next 3-4 seasons.