Pros and Cons of Lions Re-Signing QB Tim Boyle
The Detroit Lions have a backup quarterback conundrum on their hands going into the NFL offseason.
Both Tim Boyle -- the team's primary backup in 2021 -- and David Blough will be free agents this offseason. Boyle is set to be an unrestricted free agent, while Blough will be a restricted free agent.
Blough didn't throw a single pass this past season. Meanwhile, Boyle played in five games, and started in the first three games of his NFL career.
Let's take a deeper look at Boyle, the former Green Bay Packers backup signal-caller.
When he did get the chance to start in 2021 in the place of Jared Goff, he wasn't very good.
He threw for a combined 264 yards through his first two games as a starter, to go along with a lone touchdown and three interceptions. He didn't give the Lions much of a chance to win in those two contests, which came in Week 11 against the Cleveland Browns and in Week 16 against the Atlanta Falcons.
After losing his first two aforementioned career starts, he suffered a third in Week 17 against the Seattle Seahawks. It marked his third and final start of the '21 campaign.
Tim Boyle
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The Connecticut native completed just 59.46 of his passes, threw three picks and recorded a measly passer rating of 65.4 in the outing.
Although just a small sample size, the former Packers preseason sensation certainly hurt his chances of being re-signed by Detroit, with his performance this past season.
He surely didn't look the part of a starting-caliber NFL passer, and he barely looked like he has what it takes to survive as a backup in the league.
Following the Lions' loss to the Seahawks, head coach Dan Campbell explained to reporters the progress he observed this season from the 27-year-old signal-caller.
"I thought he read coverages pretty good, there again. I thought he made some really good throws. I mean, it’s kind of like what you guys saw, there were ups and downs. It was inconsistent," Campbell said. "You make a really good throw and then maybe on another one he wouldn’t quite get his feet set and he’s making an off-platform throw when really if he just sets his feet, it’ll be more accurate there."
Campbell added, "Those are little things where -- you love the fact that he plays fast, but you’ve just got to calm some things down. That will help him. And, I bring this up, he’s -- and it’s easy to look at it and three interceptions and I know, but there is something about this guy and I think he’s going to get better. I think these reps are invaluable for him."
The only saving grace for Boyle this offseason is that he will be affordable to re-sign. There shouldn't be a lot of suitors for his services, which should make his asking price very cost effective for the Lions.
Subsequently, Brad Holmes & Co. could find it worthwhile to stash Boyle on the depth chart as the third-string quarterback.
However, other than that, it doesn't make much sense for Detroit's front-office brass to bring him back for another season in Motown.
