Lions work out Tajh Boyd, assess backup QB options

It wasn't long ago that some draftniks thought Tajh Boyd would be a first-round pick.

Boyd had a disappointing senior season at Clemson, fell to the sixth round of last year's draft, got cut in training camp by the hapless New York Jets, and after spending a season in the Fall Experimental Football League, is back on NFL radars now.

The Detroit Lions hosted Boyd for a private workout today, and while he left without a contract, he performed well enough that he could return as a backup to Matthew Stafford next season.

Terry Shea, Boyd's coach with the FXFL's Boston Brawlers last season and a well-known quarterback guru who worked with Stafford coming out of college, said he believes Boyd has a future in the NFL.

"I do see that," Shea said by phone today. "I often thought, 'OK, if I were organizing an offense at the NFL level, how would I evaluate Taj Boyd?' And I said to myself, 'He could be one of three, he could be one of four going into camp,' and I think his skill set might allow him to win one of those jobs, whether it was a No. 3, and then with time he would grow. And I think he will if somebody has a chance to develop him."

Boyd completed 58% of his passes in five starts with the Brawlers, throwing for 713 yards and six touchdowns with one interception. He was 8 of 17 passing in the preseason last year with a 42-yard touchdown in the Jets' Week 4 exhibition loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Lions enter this off-season with an unsettled backup quarterback situation.

Dan Orlovsky, last year's No. 2 quarterback, is an unrestricted free agent and it's unclear if the Lions will bring him back. Kellen Moore, last year's No. 3, is a restricted free agent who the Lions have made it known they'd like to retain.

Last year, the team set out to find a young developmental quarterback, perhaps through the draft. That never materialized, but they could go that route again.

Briefly: Nick Fairley's trial on an almost three-year-old DUI charge is scheduled for 9 a.m. Wednesday in a Mobile, Ala., courtroom. Fairley, who missed half of last season with a knee injury, is required to attend the trial, a court spokesperson said.

A first-round pick in 2011, Fairley was arrested twice in a two-month span in the spring of 2012. He settled a possession of marijuana charge that December, but has had his DUI case buried in appeals and motions.

Fairley played in just eight games last year because of a knee injury. He will be a free agent next month, and the Lions have not yet started contract talks with his representatives while they focus on re-signing Ndamukong Suh.

Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.