David Blough

The Lions passed on adding a quarterback in this year’s draft, and they will go into the 2022 season with Jared Goff as their starting signal-caller. Behind Goff on the depth chart are Tim Boyle and David Blough, both of whom re-signed with the club in March.

Boyle, who joined the Packers as a UDFA in 2018 and who signed with the Lions last offseason after Green Bay non-tendered him as a restricted free agent, started the first three games of his career in 2021 in relief of an injured Goff. Detroit went 0-3 in those contests, and Boyle completed 64.9% of his passes for three TDs against six interceptions. Blough, meanwhile, has been in the Motor City since he was acquired in a minor trade with the Browns in advance of the 2019 campaign. He has not started a game since that 2019 season, when he went 0-5 with a 64.0 QB rating and a 4:6 TD:INT ratio.

Obviously, the club’s QB2 options are less than inspiring, but the battle between Boyle and Blough will be meaningful for both players as they attempt to extend their NFL careers. And head coach Dan Campbell said it will be an open competition when training camp begins next month, as Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press writes.

“Competition is great thing,” Campbell said. “I respect what both of them did this spring. That’s what I love about both of them. I know they are going out there to compete against each other.”

Now for several more Lions-related items:

• As expected, rookie wideout Jameson Williams will not be on the field when training camp opens, as Birkett writes in a separate piece. Per Birkett, Williams — who tore his ACL in the 2022 College Football Playoff National Championship Game in January — is likely to begin camp on the active PUP list, which is consistent with earlier reporting on the matter. If he has not been medically cleared when the regular season begins, he will revert to the reserve PUP list and will be required to miss at least the first six weeks of the season. The Lions are not expected to be a playoff outfit in 2022, and GM Brad Holmes has stated that Williams will be brought along slowly. Given his vast potential, which compelled Holmes to make an aggressive trade up the draft board from No. 32 to No. 12 to land the Alabama star, a conservative approach makes sense. Holmes does expect Williams to suit up for the club this season, though that might not be until November, and Campbell conceded that Williams will spend most of the summer rehabbing. Given all of that, a reserve PUP list designation appears to be the most likely outcome here.
• The Lions have hired Brandon Sosna as senior director of football administration, according to Pete Thamel of ESPN.com. Sosna, who worked as a salary-cap and contract analyst for the Browns from 2017-18, had served as the right-hand man to USC athletic director Mike Bohn since 2019. The Trojans reportedly made a strong push to retain Sosna, but the opportunity to rejoin the NFL ranks was too appealing for the UPenn alumnus to turn down.
• Yesterday, Lions DL John Penisini announced his retirement.
• Our Adam La Rose recently profiled Lions TE T.J. Hockenson as an extension candidate.