NFL Rumors: Tyler Boyd Met with Chargers in Free Agency; Titans Visit Scheduled
Scott Polacek@@ScottPolacek
Featured Columnist IVMay 1, 2024
Multiple AFC teams are reportedly interested in a veteran as they look for wide receiver depth this offseason.
ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported Wednesday that former Cincinnati Bengals pass-catcher Tyler Boyd met with the Los Angeles Chargers. He is also scheduled to meet with the Tennessee Titans this week.
With the NFL draft now in the rearview mirror, Fowler suggested Boyd's market "should heat up" in the coming days.
Boyd was overshadowed at times as part of a strong receiver group that included Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins in Cincinnati, but he has been quite productive during his career.
He was at his best with back-to-back seasons of more than 1,000 receiving yards in 2018 and 2019 before Chase and Higgins arrived for the Bengals. But he still put up solid numbers playing alongside the duo and helped lead the franchise to the Super Bowl during the 2021 campaign.
The University of Pittsburgh product posted 67 catches for 828 yards and five touchdowns that season and hauled in five passes during the Super Bowl loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
There was a drop in production in 2023 with 67 catches for 667 yards and two touchdowns, but the Bengals also didn't have quarterback Joe Burrow for the final seven games because of a wrist injury. Not having one of the best signal-callers in the league impacted all the receiving options on the team.
Los Angeles being one of the teams interested in Boyd doesn't come as a surprise considering it moved on from Keenan Allen and Mike Williams this offseason. Even with the addition of wide receiver Ladd McConkey in the second round of the NFL draft, depth is needed at the position.
The Chargers could likely offer Boyd a more significant role than the Titans, who have DeAndre Hopkins, Calvin Ridley and Treylon Burks at wide receiver. But the AFC South team could always use more depth, and Boyd could take advantage of the spacing created by Hopkins and Ridley.
He is surely accustomed to doing that from his time playing in the same offense as Chase and Higgins.
Boyd is just 29 years old and will likely remain productive in the immediate future, so it wouldn't be surprising to see him join a team sooner rather than later.