Heading into the offseason, most thought Tim Boyle had the inside edge over David Blough to be the Detroit Lions‘ backup quarterback in 2022 but when it came down to it, GM Brad Holmes, along with input from Dan Campbell and his staff, decided to cut them both.
Neither Boyle nor Blough played well enough during training camp to prove that they are worthy of backing up starter Jared Goff and the Lions ultimately decided that going in a different direction would be their best bet.
On Wednesday, news surfaced that the Lions were releasing Blough, who was originally on the 53-man roster, and moments later, another report came out that they were signing Nate Sudfeld (formerly of the San Francisco 49ers) to be their backup.
Brad Holmes explains why Detroit Lions cut Tim Boyle and David Blough
On Friday, Brad Holmes spoke with reporters and he explained why Tim Boyle and David Blough were given the first shot to backup Jared Goff and he then explained why both were eventually cut.
“Every single decision we make goes through a very thorough process and we want to be as rational and sound in our judgment as possible,” Holmes said. “Even with Tim, the wins didn’t come in the games that he played, but … we saw some things that encouraged us and wanted us to keep working with him. And then bringing back Blough — he’s got previous experience. We had a plan in place, we felt good about it and they just didn’t quite make the jump that we expected them to make.”
“We had a plan in place for the backup quarterback position, it kind of took a detour that was unexpected, but you’ve got to be prepared for that,” Holmes said. “And we just kind of made it work the best way we can and we did what’s best for the organization at this time. … So, is there a little bit of risk? And is it foolproof? I have too much respect for the unknown to really not say there’s a little bit of that. But I think we got the plan in place where Nate will get caught up to speed and we’ll be in good shape.”
Nation, do you think Brad Holmes and his team made the right decision to cut both David Blough and Tim Boyle? Is Nate Sudfeld an upgrade?
I think it is a mistake to not at least keep Blough on the practice squad. He was able to make some things happen in games, took the team down the field quite a few times, and seems to be respected by teammates. He has grit, that was evident in the last preseason game where he took a beating yet kept fighting and did some good things without a lot of help at times. Sudfeld’s resume is not impressive at all and I wonder if it is another case of Holmes falling in love with arm strength rather than grit and ability. Don’t like the move at all.