Boyle Hopes to Close Season by Facing Rodgers, Packers
GREEN BAY, Wis. – Three starts with the Detroit Lions have “100 percent” confirmed to Tim Boyle that he belongs in the NFL.
Following a challenging college career, Boyle used a strong preseason to make the Green Bay Packers’ roster as an undrafted free agent in 2018. In 2019, he led the NFL in preseason passer rating to beat out DeShone Kizer for the No. 2 job. In 2020, his high-quality training camp ended the battle with first-round rookie Jordan Love before it started.
With his path in Green Bay blocked by Love, Boyle signed with the Detroit Lions in free agency this past offseason. Depending on the health of Jared Goff’s knee and the trajectory of the game, he might get to play against his former team on Sunday at Ford Field.
As he told Packer Central after joining the Lions, Boyle was thankful for having three years to absorb every bit of Aaron Rodgers’ experience and wisdom.
“I came in a quarterback – call it X – and I left quarterback Y,” Boyle told Lions beat reporters on Wednesday. “My whole entire time there, I was strategic with how I picked his brain because I didn’t want to be the undrafted rookie who was in his ear and always asking. I kind of took a backseat my first year and observed and watched how he operated. And then I took the role of being the backup and that’s when you get more involved.
“But, yeah, he’s instrumental to my whole entire progression as a quarterback and the coaches there. I’m grateful for our friendship off the field, which I think is far more important than the one we had on the field. He’ll be a special person in my life forever and I’m very grateful for him taking me under his wing and being as nice as he was. It was a special three years for me, but I’m right where I want to be right now.”
Aaron Rodgers and Tim Boyle staged mock wrestling matches during training camp in 2020. (Dan Powers/USA Today Sports Images)
The mention of Boyle brought a smile to Rodgers’ face on Wednesday.
“I love Tim,” Rodgers said. “Tim was like a little brother to me in the QB room. He’s a great guy. A real interesting guy – smart, gym rat, really worked his butt off to get better physically, and then mentally was always asking good questions and trying to figure out some of the stuff that I was doing out on the field. I want the best for Tim in this league because he’s one of the great, great guys in this league and he deserves it.”
Boyle has started three times this season, losing all three. While he’s completed 64.9 percent of his passes, he’s thrown three touchdowns vs. six interceptions and averaged 175 passing yards per start. He threw two touchdowns and three interceptions in last week’s 51-29 loss at Seattle, though Packers coach Matt LaFleur didn’t think Boyle was to blame for two of them.
“I think he’s done a lot of good things – just what we would see here on a daily basis,” LaFleur said. “I think we all have a special place in our heart for (him). He meant so much to our quarterback room and this football team. He’s such a loyal guy and he works his tail off. It’s fun to see a guy who has worked so hard and has come so far get an opportunity and go out there and perform.”
Boyle said it would be “more than cool” to get a chance to face the Packers on Sunday. While the results haven’t been great, the stats are right about in line with all the other inexperienced quarterbacks asked with guiding rebuilding teams. Of the 44 quarterbacks with at least Boyle’s 94 passing attempts, he ranks 43rd in passer rating – not far behind first-round rookies Justin Fields (37th), Zach Wilson (39th) and Trevor Lawrence (41st) or unproven veterans like Mike White (37th) and Taysom Hill (40th).
He says he’s grown a lot with the experience.
“That’s loaded,” he said of the knowledge he’s gained. “You kind of make that list as you go. I think No. 1 is speed in which I progress through my plays. Another thing is pocket movement. As you see the game of football, the evolution of it, the quarterback has to be more mobile. You obviously have guys (like) Tom Brady, Matt Ryan, who are standing in there delivering the ball, but I think football is favoring a guy who can move around a little bit. So, I think that will be a focus in the offseason of making sure I’m a little bit more mobile, that I have the ability to get out and scramble and make plays. I was fortunate enough to be around one of the best to do that with Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay.”
