Tim Boyle and Da’Shawn Hand are heading to the Detroit Lions injured reserve. Detroit announced the moves in a series of roster maneuvers on Thursday.
Boyle, the Lions’ backup quarterback has been placed on I.R. with a broken thumb. Boyle had surgery to repair his right (throwing) thumb on Monday and is expected to miss 6-8 weeks. He broke his thumb while being sacked on the first drive of the Lions’ loss to the Indianapolis Colts last Friday. Boyle stayed in the game and authored his most impressive drive of the preseason on the subsequent drive.
Hand suffered a groin injury on August 10th and has been idle since. The defensive end has battled injuries throughout his Detroit career; he’s been placed on I.R. at least once in each of his four seasons with the Lions.
The Lions held off placing Boyle and Hand on I.R. until after the final roster cutdowns so they are eligible to come back in 2021. Each must miss a minimum of three games.
The NFL kept the unlimited I.R. return rule implemented in 2020 for the COVID-19 pandemic, so going on injured reserve no longer ends a player’s season.
