After a rash of injuries struck the Chicago Bears in Week 12, an obvious decision about the roster was made. They went out to find some depth. As Week 13 has gotten underway, a rather unflattering stat about one of those depth additions has surfaced. It has brought not only his signing but his entire career up to this point into question.
Starting quarterback Justin Fields is tending to his separated left shoulder but practiced in full on Thursday. But backup Trevor Siemian is dealing with an oblique injury suffered during pre-game warm-ups last week, leaving only Nathan Peterman without health concerns. So, the Bears brought in journeyman backup Tim Boyle.
Boyle, 28, has already played for two other NFC North teams in his three-year NFL career – the Detroit Lions and the Green Bay Packers. It is his time in Green Bay that has him in Chicago but his resume has him in question.
New Bears QB Tim Boyle’s Troubling Stat Revealed
Is Tim Boyle Cooked?
“It is crazy that new #Bears QB Tim Boyle is even in the NFL,” tweeted Matt Eurich of CBS Sports. “He threw 12 touchdowns compared to 26 interceptions in his college career. In his first three collegiate seasons, he threw 1 TD to 13 interceptions.”
The 6-foot-4 Boyle completed 48.4% of his passes for 1237 yards in 19 games at the University of Connecticut.
He threw 142 of his 275 passes and gained 616 of those yards after his freshman year. But Boyle was a backup all three years at UConn, first to Casey Cochran and then to Chandler Whitmer. So his numbers being as they are is arguably even more startling considering collegiate backups mostly play in garbage time against other backups.
Absolute dime by Tim Boyle!#ATLvsDET | 📺 Lions TV Network pic.twitter.com/e2Z4Jcd5m4
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) August 12, 2022
Boyle’s penchant for turnovers has followed him to the NFL along with his aversion to scoring.
He has thrown three touchdown passes to six interceptions in his career, all coming last season with the Lions as he guided them to an 0-3 record, though he did complete over 64% of his passes.
“Boyle must be INCREDIBLE in the locker room/film room,” continued Eurich. “He must understand things so well. That is the only thing that makes sense as to why he’s hung around the league.”
Why Bears Bagged Boyle
To Eurich’s point, Boyle spent two seasons with first-year Bears offensive coordinator Luke Getsy who was his position coach with the Packers whom the Bears face in Week 13.
That connection has previously helped wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown as well as offensive lineman Lucas Patrick land in Chicago. The purpose of their signings was in part to help translate the language of the new offense to their position mates to make things easier to digest and Boyle’s could be much the same.
.@packers @timboyle_7 #cheeseheads is the new backup to #AaronRodgers in #PackerLand. It seems to be a league wide trend to go with backup QB’s with no @NFL experience. Crazy to think but maybe Boyle can be ???? #BaldysBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/VBTeNSFkKz
— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) September 3, 2019
Fields has come a long way from training camp to the beginning of the preseason and regular season up to now. But most of that has come on the ground as a runner as Fields has 640 rushing yards since Week 6.
He has also thrown for 963 yards while completing over 62% of his passes with 10 touchdowns to four interceptions.
Troubling stats for Fields include his seven fumbles (0 lost) and 22 sacks taken.
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The second-year passer has done well thus far to take in a new system while adjusting to new teammates weekly. And if adding Boyle helps speed along that process, then so be it stats be damned. Fields was back practicing in full on Thursday but, as we’ve seen, Boyle could be one hit away at any time.
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Fields’ return is also right on time. Packers quarterback and Bears antagonizer Aaron Rodgers is dealing with a thumb injury on his throwing hand as well as a rib injury.
But he will play to keep his streak against the Bears alive.
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