The Tennessee Titans continued their receiving room makeover Tuesday by signing former Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tyler Boyd.
Boyd’s one-year deal worth up to $4.5 million, first reported by ESPN, gives the Titans a clear starting trio in support of second-year quarterback Will Levis — Boyd in the slot with returning standout DeAndre Hopkins and free-agent signee Calvin Ridley on the outside. Ridley signed a four-year, $92 million deal with the Titans in March.
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Boyd, who reunites with new Titans coach Brian Callahan — his offensive coordinator in Cincinnati for the past five seasons — is only under contract for the 2024 season, like Hopkins. So this isn’t necessarily the Titans’ long-term look. But if Tennessee can figure out protection for Levis, it should have a recipe to return to competitiveness and gain a lot of information on the viability of Levis as a franchise quarterback.
Boyd had 67 catches for 667 yards and two touchdowns last season. The 2016 second-round pick out of the University of Pittsburgh had 513 grabs for 6,000 yards and 31 scores in eight seasons in Cincinnati, including 1,000-yard seasons in 2018 and 2019. He played all but three regular-season games in the past five seasons, combining with Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins for the past three seasons to form one of the most productive and feared receiving trios in the league.
Titan up
— Tyler Boyd (@boutdat_23) May 7, 2024
His arrival continues general manager Ran Carthon’s quest to improve the Titans at the position, after predecessor Jon Robinson traded away star wideout A.J. Brown during the 2022 draft, getting the No. 18 pick in return. Brown has flourished with the Philadelphia Eagles, while Robinson’s drafted replacement for him, Treylon Burks, has struggled to make an impact in two seasons.
This pushes Burks down the depth chart, though the Titans hope he can find health and a spark in his third season and entrench himself as a piece of this offense’s future. He has 49 catches for 665 yards and one touchdown in two seasons, missing 12 of the 34 games due to injury.
The Boyd signing may be more of a commentary on another receiver taken in that 2022 draft, fifth-round pick Kyle Philips. Philips also has endured multiple injuries and has 23 catches for 259 yards in 13 games in two NFL seasons. He fell out of favor as a returner in each of the past two seasons after muffing punts, and his ability as a returner was a key part of the Titans selecting him. Carthon took Tulane receiver Jha’Quan Jackson — a slot receiver and returner — in the sixth round of the NFL Draft last month.
The Titans will again have the services of reliable, play-anywhere receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, who has 94 catches for 1,276 yards and 10 touchdowns since signing with the Titans as an undrafted free agent out of Indiana in 2020.
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(Photo: Dylan Buell / Getty Images)
