Detroit Lions lose quarterback Tim Boyle to the Chicago Bears

The Detroit Lions quarterback depth chart got thinner on Wednesday, as the Chicago Bears signed Tim Boyle off their practice squad.

With Justin Fields out, Trevor Siemian suffered an oblique injury in pre-game warmups started under center for the Chicago Bears last week. So they were nearly down to Nathan Peterman last Sunday, and the status of Fields and Siemian is up in the air for this week. So there is a need for a healthy body at quarterback.

Well, they’ve found one. According to Brad Biggs of The Chicago Tribune, the Bears have signed Tim Boyle off the Lions’ practice squad.

Boyle worked with Bears’ offensive coordinator Luke Getsy in 2019 and 2020 with the Green Bay Packers, when Getsy was quarterbacks coach. So there’s familiarity and a presumed base-level scheme fit there, and as quarterback beggars the Bears couldn’t be choosers based on any other criteria.

Detroit Lions lose Tim Boyle to the Chicago Bears

Boyle signed with the Lions in 2021. He made five appearances last season and made three starts, with 526 passing yards, three touchdowns, six interceptions, a 64.9 percent completion rate, a 63.5 passer rating and 26.4 QBR. In his first career start, Week 11 against the Cleveland Browns, he posted the lowest passer rating (34.1) for a Lions’ starting quarterback since Drew Stanton in 2009.

The Lions re-signed Boyle in the offseason, then he was released late in the preseason. When they lost David Blough (who was also released late in the preseason) to the Minnesota Vikings Boyle wound up on the practice squad, where he has been all season.

With only Jared Goff and Nate Sudfeld on the roster, the Lions are now likely in the market for a quarterback to put on the practice squad.

The Bears and Lions play in Week 17. So if Boyle is still there, after a three-week minimum stay on the 53-man roster, he should be helpful from a preparation and information perspective. But let’s not pretend Boyle is a huge loss for the Lions.