Why It’s Unlikely That The Cincinnati Bengals Would Re-sign Wide Receiver Tyler Boyd

After more than two weeks of NFL free agency, former slot receiver Tyler Boyd of the Cincinnati Bengals is still without a new team.

Boyd arrived ahead of even Joe Mixon and Sam Hubbard in the latter stages of the Marvin Lewis era, and he was a cornerstone of the Bengals receiving corps for almost ten years. He has witnessed both the pinnacles and the depths of Bengals football.

Regardless of how long he is available in free agency, Boyd’s amazing time in Cincinnati has come to an end for a number of reasons.

The Bengals are advancing in the spot.

Despite all the effort Boyd put into the slot during his eight years with the Bengals, it was the one position in Cincinnati that allowed him to succeed. He was never a particularly explosive athlete and was far more successful going under than over coverages.

This restricted the possible configurations of the Bengals’ 11 personnel grouping (three receivers on the field) for many years to come, regardless of whether Boyd was flanked on the outside by A.J. Green, Tee Higgins, or Ja’Marr Chase. One of Boyd’s few weaknesses as a receiver was his lack of athleticism to threaten boundary cornerbacks, which made the Bengals play him mostly in the slot.