Miles

Boykin

The former Notre Dame wideout entered the NFL as a third-round pick in 2019. He spent three years in Baltimore before joining the Steelers. He played primarily special teams in Pittsburgh. Boykin has bounced around various practice squads over the past two years. His career comes to a close with 38 catches for 498 yards and seven scores.

Boykin comes to the Giants after playing with the Steelers the past two seasons primarily on special teams. He’ll provide depth for a Giants’ receiver unit looking to rise from the mediocre ranks.

The offseason addition of wide receiver Allen Robinson leaves little room for snaps for as long as Robinson, Diontae Johnson, and George Pickens remain healthy, and Gunner Olszewski remains the team’s preferred option at both punt returner and kick returner. Boykin was claimed off waivers from the Ravens prior to the 2022 season before appearing for only 132 offensive snaps, sixth most at the position for the Steelers. He should once again serve a situational depth role for a team searching for production at the position.

The Steelers will take on the final year of Boykin’s rookie contract. Boykin has been mostly anonymous for Baltimore, but as an outside ball-winner he was never really a good fit in Baltimore’s offense with Lamar Jackson. The Steelers don’t have a lot behind Diontae Johnson and Chase Claypool at wideout, with Anthony Miller and Gunner Olszewski as the main receivers of note. Boykin could find his way into the fantasy discussion with a few breaks. It’s probably more likely that he’s just depth at this point.

The move saves the Ravens $2.5 million in cap space. Baltimore was reportedly attempting to trade Boykin prior to his release. Unsurprisingly, there wasn’t a market for a receiver coming off a one-catch season that saw him appear in eight games. Finger and hamstring issues kept him off the field for the other nine outings of the season. Boykin posted impressive numbers at the combine but has failed to make much of his upper-echelon athleticism since entering the league three years ago. It won’t take long for him to become a reclamation project for another team.

A third-round pick back in 2019, Boykin has just 33 career catches and struggled last season with a finger injury, so it is not a surprise the Ravens are looking to move on. Boykin does have good size and tested extremely well coming out of college. It would not be a surprise if some team takes a flier on him. Boykin is owed $2.54 million in the final year of his rookie deal.

The Ravens are entering the offseason without much cap space, though some of that could be alleviated via an extension for Lamar Jackson as he’s currently carrying a $23 million cap hit. Villanueva will turn 34 in September and was not the spot starter the Ravens hoped they were getting. Tavon Young (currently on a $9.18 million cap hit), Ben Powers, and Miles Boykin are other Ravens players that Zrbiec could see becoming cap casualties, trade targets, or restructure candidates.

Boykin is behind Sammy Watkins, and Rashod Bateman looks likely to steal any kind of future role for Boykin after an exciting training camp. Even active, Boykin isn’t on the fantasy radar until he makes a real splash, and he has yet to draw more than five targets in any game in his career.

Boykin didn’t appear to be a lock to make the Ravens’ 53-man roster prior to suffering a hamstring injury in camp. He is likely to serve as wide receiver depth, and could potentially be a game-day inactive even after his return. The Ravens now have 21 days to add him to their active roster, otherwise he will revert to season-ending IR.

Bateman was activated in time for Wednesday’s practice. The Ravens now have a 21-day window in which to move Bateman to their 53-man roster. After undergoing core muscle surgery in August, Bateman has been unable to practice, which could put a Week 4 return out of reach for the rookie. Still, it’s a great sign to see him activated from Injured Reserve after missing the minimum three games. Bateman was highly productive as a collegiate and offers the versatility to play on the outside and in the slot. He should provide a boost to a Ravens offense that has been less run heavy than expected, potentially as soon as Sunday, more likely against the Colts in Week 5.