Kizer and Boyle? Kizer or Boyle? Or Plan D?

When the Green Bay Packers walk onto the practice field on Sunday, the quarterback spotlight will shine solely on Aaron Rodgers. For now, with roster cuts looming, the focus remains on the backups.

Will the Packers keep Tim Boyle and DeShone Kizer? Or will they keep Boyle or Kizer?

“You can never have enough good quarterbacks,” coach Matt LaFleur said on Friday, a day after closing the preseason with a victory over Kansas City. “That’s the one thing I’ll tell you. So, if you feel like you have three of them, you’re going to keep three of them.”

Kizer and Boyle each started two preseason games but the production was overwhelmingly tilted in Boyle’s favor.

While Boyle completed only 59.6 percent of his passes, he was No. 1 in the NFL with six touchdowns, zero interceptions and a 112.9 passer rating. He led the team to 52 points. An undrafted rookie with big-time arm strength, consistency has been elusive, though he’s taken steps in that direction.

“I just feel a lot more comfortable right now, even from an offensive standpoint, just understanding the scheme and seeing defenses, understanding protections, that kind of stuff,” Boyle said after Thursday’s game. “I just feel more comfortable being around Aaron (Rodgers), DeShone , Manny (Wilkins). We have those good conversations to make sure we all understand, we’re all on the same page, so (I’m) definitely a bit more comfortable and I think I’m definitely a little bit more efficient on the field than last year. I was thinking a lot more last year. This year, I was able to kind of just go there, react and play ball.”

Kizer completed only 55.6 percent of his passes with two touchdowns, two interceptions and a 70.0 rating. He led the team to only 17 points.

“I still think he’s a young player and he’s got a lot more to learn,” LaFleur said of Kizer, who turned 23 in January. “He did a lot of good things, and then there’s some things that we were constantly on him about (and) trying to be a little bit more consistent. He’s talented. He’s athletic. He’s definitely into it. He’s been a great teammate; he’s been great in the room.”

Kizer has size, athleticism, intelligence, arm strength and attitude. What he hasn’t shown is the ability to put all of those tools together. Over the past two seasons, he has the worst passer rating in the league and his teams have gone 0-16 when he’s started or earned the lion's share of the playing time.

“I think I became a better quarterback all-around,” Kizer said. “I’m throwing the ball a little more accurately. I’ve really been able to command the huddle the way I want to, really been able to lead within the offense, really been able to participate in offensive meetings the way I want to and give my insight from the experience that I’ve had. For the most part, I think I’m a much better quarterback than I was before training camp started. Now, it’s up to the guys upstairs to determine where my future is, and I’m looking forward to once again coming right back in this locker and preparing to go out and open up this NFL season and help Aaron (Rodgers) do what he does best, and that’s going out and winning games.”

If Boyle and Kizer are Option A, and Boyle is Option B and Kizer is Option C, then a possible Option D developed on Friday when the Los Angeles Rams released Brandon Allen.

Allen was a sixth-round pick by Jacksonville in 2016. He spent his rookie season as the Jaguars’ third quarterback before being released upon final cuts in 2017. He spent the 2017 season as the Rams’ No. 3 quarterback and the 2018 season on their practice squad. He has not thrown a regular-season pass. This preseason, he completed 63.8 percent of his passes but had zero touchdowns against three interceptions.

The Packers ties and, therefore, potential interest are obvious. In 2016, Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett was Jacksonville’s quarterbacks coach before a midseason promotion to offensive coordinator. In 2017, LaFleur was the Rams’ offensive coordinator.

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