Good or Bad, It’s ‘Back to Work’ for Boyle

Tim Boyle, whose hold on the No. 2 job was put in doubt when the team drafted Jordan Love in the first round, is off to a strong start to camp.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Whether it’s the personal satisfaction of making it or the disappointment of seeing a first-round pick used at his position group, Green Bay Packers quarterback Tim Boyle has the same mind-set.

Get back to work.

At Connecticut and then Eastern Kentucky, Boyle statistically had one of the worst collegiate careers for any starter in at least the past couple decades. Playing for his home-state school, the native of Hartford, Conn., completed 48.4 percent of his passes with an unthinkably bad one touchdown vs. 13 interceptions from 2013 through 2015. Since 2000, no major-college quarterback with at least 200 career passing attempts owns a worse passer rating than Boyle, with his collegiate mark of 77.9 equating to an NFL mark of 42.6. No major-college quarterback with more than 200 career pass attempts threw fewer touchdowns.

Boyle transferred to Eastern Kentucky and regrouped mentally as a redshirt in 2016 but still threw more interceptions (13) than touchdowns (11) as a redshirt senior in 2017. Not surprisingly, he went undrafted in 2018.

Hidden in the fog of those numbers was NFL-caliber talent. He stuck on the Packers’ roster as a rookie and beat out DeShone Kizer to be Aaron Rodgers’ primary backup in 2019.

“I think statistically I was a long shot just because of my stats in college but, truthfully, I always believed that I could play in the NFL and I had the talent,” Boyle said after Monday’s training camp practice. 

“I just needed the right kind of motivation and players around me and coaches, and I think I found that here. Yeah, I’ve definitely had a few of those moments where you kind of just take a step back and you think about the journey and the perseverance and a smile starts creeping up on your face a little bit. But I don’t really stay in those moments. It’s always back to work because there’s always competition and my career could be very short. That’s completely determined on what I do and what I bring to the table. That falls on me.”

It was the same mind-set almost four months ago, when a quiet evening with friends and family took an unforgettable turn. Late into the night of April 23, the Packers traded up in the first round to select Utah State quarterback Jordan Love. Just like that, not only was Boyle’s place as No. 2 on the quarterback pecking order thrown into flux but so was the state of his career.

“I was with a good friend of mine and my two sisters out by my fire at my house,” Boyle recalled. “It was late. I can still remember it. Honestly, it’s probably a feeling I’ll never forget. Just, obviously, seeing the name ‘Jordan Love’ pop up and my heart drops a little bit. But, at that point, it’s out of your control and it’s time to go back to work. That’s how I approached my offseason was I don’t get paid to make those decisions. I’m here to compete and have a good timing doing it and bring some smiles to the party and be the best quarterback I can be. By no means is it Jordan’s fault or anyone’s fault. Jordan’s a great guy and we’re obviously very lucky to have him. I think at first, it was a little shocking just from an, ‘Oh, man, we got a first-round quarterback’ and all those thoughts rush into your head but then you settle down and go back to work.”

That work has been evident. It’s only two days but Boyle is off to a strong start to his third training camp and second in coach Matt LaFleur’s system. It started on Day 1 with a bomb to Marquez Valdes-Scantling and continued on Monday with a string of completions that included two big gains to Darrius Shepherd.

“The separation that he has from any other player on the squad is his aptitude,” Rodgers said on Saturday. “He’s very intelligent. He understands the offense, knows the intricacies of the offense. It’s getting him more experience, more reps. It is different 1s against 1s. It’s just a different type of tempo and obviously slightly more talented players you’re going against and the more reps you can get with the No. 1s, the more experience and better feel. But he can do it all, he’s tall, he can move, really smart at the line of scrimmage, good with his checks and he’s pretty settled in his third year.”

During the offseason, quarterbacks coach/passing-game coordinator Luke Getsy said Boyle “become a pro” last season. Not only has Boyle learned a lot from Rodgers, but Boyle was thrust into a much more meaningful role last season being just one disastrous snap away from being thrust into the action. Boyle, who was put in charge of the Friday quarterback quizzes, took ownership over the backup role.

“I don’t think a lot of people understand just the backup’s role on a game week is to support the room,” Boyle said. “Obviously, that starts with me being there for Aaron and doing what he needs me to do from a test standpoint or watching film and seeing how a corner plays a certain ball. But my job is to be there and support him. I think last yea, I came into myself a little bit and got comfortable. I was able to speak openly and I wasn’t that shy anymore. I felt like I had a voice and I felt respected, which was nice. But being around ‘12’ is helpful from a mental standpoint and a physical standpoint. I felt like it came to me last year. I felt comfortable being in the room and I felt respected, which was obviously appreciated.”