A professional reunion between Tyler Boyd and Pittsburgh doesn't appear to be in the works, after all. Despite mutual interest, Boyd and his hometown team, the Pittsburgh Steelers, don't appear to be joining forces this offseason, according to The Athletic.
The Athletic's report supports a recent report by Post-Gazette detailing why Boyd probably won't sign with Pittsburgh. Money was the issue, as the the Steelers struggled with the idea of paying a No. 3 receiver $8 million to $9 million per season, per the report (via 93.7 The Fan).
Along with the Steelers, Boyd has also received interest from the Chiefs and the Jets. But the Chiefs just signed Marquise "Hollywood" Brown. The Jets recently came to terms with veteran Mike Williams. In the meantime, Boyd continues to be unsigned, and the Steelers are still looking to sign a receiver to team up with George Pickens, Calvin Austin III and recently-acquired Van Jefferson. The Steelers did recently sign Quez Watkins to help with their depth at the position.
Boyd, who enjoyed a successful, eight-year run with the Cincinnati Bengals, was clearly interested in joining the Steelers. A Pittsburgh native who starred at the University of Pittsburgh, Boyd recently spoke about the possibility of joining his hometown team.
"You never know," Boyd told Pittsburgh Sports Now. "I love Coach [Mike] Tomlin. He's probably one of the realest dudes in the sports business. Obviously, I played at Pitt, and I had a lot of run-ins with him and talked to him just about football. His personality is more like a father figure. It's a great connection, but who knows? Even if I don't go after this year, I could do a one-year deal at the end of my career and maybe finish up, but who knows."
For the most part, Boyd signing with Pittsburgh made sense. The Steelers are in the market for a new slot receiver after parting ways with Allen Robinson II and trading Dionate Johnson to the Carolina Panthers.
A former No. 1 receiver in Cincinnati, Boyd posted consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons in 2018 and 2019. He accepted a smaller role in in 2020 when the Bengals drafted Tee Higgins in the second round, and then drafted Ja'Marr Chase a year later with the fifth overall pick.
Instead of complaining, Boyd embraced his new role, which in turn helped the Bengals go from one of the league's worst teams to one of the best seemingly overnight. In 2021, he caught 67 passes for 828 yards and five touchdowns during the regular season while helping the Bengals reach the Super Bowl. Over the past two seasons, he caught a combined 125 passes for 1,429 yards and seven touchdowns.
While Boyd continues to look for a new team, the Steelers are expected to continue to add to their receiving corps during the upcoming NFL Draft.
