Jets will start QB Tim Boyle vs. Dolphins, Trevor Siemian will be the backup
The New York Jets will finally have a new starting quarterback when they take the field in Week 12.
The Jets will start Tim Boyle at quarterback when they play the Miami Dolphins on Friday. Zach Wilson, who has been the starter since Aaron Rodgers ruptured his Achilles on the fourth offensive snap of the season, will not only be moved to the bench, but will be the No. 3.
Head coach Robert Saleh told reporters following practice that Trevor Siemian will be the immediate backup. All three quarterbacks will be active for the game.
"A different style of quarterback," Saleh said of Boyle. "So it's really just to give him an opportunity to see if we can do something different with the offense."
Coach Saleh on the decision to start QB Tim Boyle this week.
He also adds that QB Trevor Siemian will be the immediate backup. pic.twitter.com/sxDIg708yH— New York Jets (@nyjets) November 20, 2023
Boyle, 29, is a career backup who is on his fourth team in five seasons. He's appeared in 18 total games since signing with the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent in 2014, but has just three career starts. All three came in 2021 when Boyle was Jared Goff's backup on the Detroit Lions. Over those games he completed 61-of-94 passes for 526 yards with three touchdowns and six interceptions.
While that may not seem hugely promising, Wilson was horrendous during Sunday's 32-6 loss to the Buffalo Bills, so even a slight improvement would be welcome. Wilson completed 7-of-15 passes for 81 yards, with a touchdown and an interception. Saleh had seen enough by the middle of the third quarter and finally benched him — something he'd resisted doing all season despite fans, analysts, and even Jets legend Joe Namath calling for him to do so. Boyle came in for Wilson and finished the game.
With vets like Joe Flacco and even Carson Wentz already snapped up by other QB-needy teems, starting Boyle is one of the only options left for Saleh and his staff. They've stuck with Wilson for so long that it's likely too late for them to change the direction of their season, but continuing to start him would only further demoralize Wilson, the rest of the team and the fans.
Putting Boyle out there may not significantly change the Jets' trajectory, but it does change the one thing they're truly in control of: the guy under center. Whether that will be good or bad won't be known until after time runs out in the fourth quarter Friday night (or even beyond), but at the very least there will be a new face for people to blame.
