Will the Steelers bring WR Tyler Boyd home to Pittsburgh?
Clairton-born Tyler Boyd grew up watching the Pittsburgh Steelers—not that he was a big fan. Indeed, he has a history of making derogatory remarks about the Steelers during his eight years with the Cincinnati Bengals. Could he wind up signing a free agent contract with them anyway?
We have to take everything he says about the Steelers with a grain of salt, playing on a rival team. Chris Wormley hid his Steelers fandom during his three seasons with the Baltimore Ravens, for example. I’m sure a Steeler or two grew up rooting for the Bengals. Most NFL players grew up as fans, and most fans have a team they root for.
But the NFL is a business, and Boyd needs a job while the Steelers have money and need his services. They just signed free agent WR Van Jefferson, but that’s hardly a signing that moves the needle. This offseason, they already traded starters Diontae Johnson and Allen Robinson II. Even Miles Boykin is still an unsigned free agent, opening them to losing him like Ray-Ray McCloud.
Right now, George Pickens is the only wide receiver of much significance on the roster. With all due respect to Calvin Austin III and the recent arrival Mr. Jefferson, they need to move on up. Yes, new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith has historically used 11 personnel less infrequently, but you need wide receiver depth today.
Now, Boyd turns 30 this year and he has 6,000-plus snaps of wear and tear behind him, including the postseason. We’re basically describing Robinson as an offseason acquisition a year ago, and he didn’t have much left in the tank.
In the past four years, Boyd is averaging 68 catches for 775 yards and four touchdowns. Now, do you sign up for those numbers in this context? Quite possibly. But he put those up mostly playing with Joe Burrow. The Steelers now have Russell Wilson, but Boyd plays over the middle, and Wilson throws more outside the numbers.
Financial numbers, then, aren’t the only ones that matter in this context. But the Steelers are running out of free-agent wide receivers, however, and Boyd is running out of teams to join. They reportedly have mutual interest, for better or worse, so something may well be forthcoming.
The Steelers’ 2023 season has been put out of its misery, ending as so many have before in recent years: a disappointing, blowout playoff loss. The only change-up lately is when they miss the playoffs altogether. But with the Buffalo Bills stamping them out in the Wildcard Round, they have another long offseason ahead.
The biggest question hanging over the team is the quarterback question. Does Russell Wilson make them a Super Bowl-caliber team, or are they wasting a year? Will he play just one season in Pittsburgh before moving on, or the Steelers moving on from him? How will the team address the depth chart?
The Steelers are swirling with more questions this offseason than usual, frankly, though the major free agent list is less substantial than usual. It’s just a matter of…what happens next? Where do they go from here? How do they find the way forward?
