The Pittsburgh Steelers may look to free agency to fill their hole at WR caused by the trade of WR Diontae Johnson, as The Athletic’s Mark Kaboly reports that the Steelers and WR Tyler Boyd have “mutual interest” and have talked about a deal.
An eight-year veteran, Boyd has spent his entire career with the Cincinnati Bengals. He’s coming off a season where he had 67 receptions for 667 yards and two touchdowns, and for his career, he has 513 receptions for 6,000 yards and 72 touchdowns. Boyd could fit in as a slot receiver option for Pittsburgh, and the team would still need to find an outside receiver opposite George Pickens either through free agency or the draft.
Boyd’s best two seasons came in 2018 and 2019, where he had 1,028 yards and 1,046 yards, respectively. As Kaboly noted, he attended Pitt and grew up around Pittsburgh, so it would be a homecoming for Boyd if he were to sign with the Steelers. The Steelers No. 2 option next to Pickens right now is currently WR Calvin Austin III, who had just 17 receptions for 180 yards and one touchdown last season.
Boyd was Cincinnati’s third receiving option over the past three seasons, behind both WR Tee Higgins and WR Ja’Marr Chase. He’s one of the better receivers still available on the free agent market, and he would be a nice replacement for Johnson, although the Steelers would still need to address the position in free agency or in a deep draft class. The Steelers had an interest in a number of top receivers in the draft, holding formal meetings with a number of them at the Combine.
There’s little doubt that the Steelers will address the wide receiver in some form or fashion in free agency, and Boyd would be one of the higher-profile moves the Steelers could make. While he wouldn’t be a true one-to-one replacement for Johnson, it would make Pittsburgh’s receiver room a lot stronger heading into the draft.
George Pickens is the unquestioned No. 1 receiver in Pittsburgh right now, and coming off a season where he had 63 receptions for 1,140 yards and five touchdowns, he’s looking to ascend and put himself among the NFL’s top wideouts in 2024. The addition of Boyd would give the Steelers another threat who could help draw some attention away from Pickens, and we’ll likely find out in the next few days whether or not Boyd will come to Pittsburgh for a homecoming.
One potential holdup could be Cincinnati’s potential trade of WR Tee Higgins, which would open up a spot in Cincinnati for Boyd. But the longer that drags out, the more likely it is that Boyd will leave the Bengals and find a new home for the first time in his career.
