The Pittsburgh Steelers are in the market for a wide receiver after trading away Diontae Johnson, and a name that’s been linked to the team is former Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tyler Boyd. Boyd grew up in Clairton, Pa., and attended Pitt, and given the Steelers’ need at the position and familiarity with Boyd from playing against him twice a year, he’s a name that seemed to make sense.
However, The Athletic’s Mark Kaboly reported that signing Boyd was a “longshot” due to money, and ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported yesterday on NFL Live that the Steelers have yet to make a “hard offer” to Boyd.
“Several teams have remained interested over the last month or so, but it’s a situation where he’s probably going to wait until after the draft. Be that May 2 option for a team that doesn’t fill their need in the draft over the first few days. Certainly, Pittsburgh kid, grew up there, Steelers have a need. They haven’t made, really, a hard offer for him yet, maybe they’ll do that.”
Based on Fowler and Kaboly’s reporting, it sounds like the Steelers probably reached out to Boyd’s camp and didn’t like the figures they were hearing that he wanted. I don’t think the Steelers are willing to break the bank for Boyd, who hasn’t had a 1,000-yard season since 2019 and will turn 30 in November. While the Steelers have a very clear need at receiver, it’s also a deep draft class, and spending on Boyd could be a waste of resources when the team can get a receiver or two in the draft for much cheaper.
With several teams reportedly interested in Boyd, it sounds like he’ll probably end up getting the money he wants. Someone will be willing to pay him, but it doesn’t sound like that team will be the Steelers. If, for whatever reason, the teams that are going hard after Boyd now do fill their needs in the draft and the Steelers don’t and can get him closer to what they want to pay, you can’t rule out a signing, but it just doesn’t seem like something that’s going to happen.
It’s smart on Tyler Boyd’s end to wait until after the draft because, despite a deep receiver class, not every team with a need at the position will get someone who can come in and make an immediate impact. With Boyd, you know what you’re going to get, and there’s the possibility he could do more in a bigger role outside the shadow of Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. He’ll likely remain a sought-after commodity, which makes it seem quite unlikely he will end up in Pittsburgh.
