Following a potential season-ending shoulder injury to 2nd round draft pick Senquez Golson, the Steelers took the initiative to fill that void by trading a late round draft pick to Philadelphia for cornerback Brandon Boykin.
Entering his 4th year, Boykin has not played elsewhere beside Philadelphia, and following a successful 2013 season for the Eagles, capturing 6 total interceptions, he became fed up with the lack of playing time he was receiving in 2014, and looking into this season, saying “it was getting old”
Now in Pittsburgh, a team in dire need of help in the secondary, he still isn’t getting much playing time.
The thought was that Boykin would immediately start for the Steelers, and become an instant impact, but that hasn’t been the case. In Week 1 against the Patriots, the Steelers decided to place Boykin in the fourth cornerback position in the depth chart, which led to no playing time.
Surprisingly, the Steelers had more faith in 2nd year player Antwon Blake and the ever disappointing Cortez Allen than the new man on the block, and it wasn’t pretty. When the most versatile offensive weapon on the field is uncovered multiple times throughout a game, something is wrong.
Boykin entered Pittsburgh with the chance to really take his career to the next level, receive more playing time, and help revolutionize a secondary that has been in shambles as of late. Instead, he received no playing time whatsoever and he’s just as curious as we are as to why.
In a recent interview with Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Boykin stated that he intends “on playing at some point and I think that will be a conversation I will have if it continues to go this route, but right now I don’t know what’s going on.”
It seems the cornerback himself is wondering what we’re all wondering.
When will Boykin get his chance?
Following the secondaries continued failures last week against the Patriots, Boykin could see the field as early as this coming week against San Francisco. On the other hand, the Steelers sometimes work in mysterious ways and could bench Boykin for quite a while, which may lead to a very upset Brandon Boykin, and likely some drama.
Hopefully, it won’t come to that. Steelers fans, for the most part, were very excited about the acquisition of Boykin, and I’m sure many, like myself, are hoping that he sees the field soon. At this point, the secondary can’t get much worse than it already is, and putting Boykin on the field looks like it would only help, if anything.
Time will tell the fate of Brandon Boykin, but for now, we look forward in anticipation for our first home game of the year.
Next: Steelers beat themselves and why that's good news
More from Still Curtain
- Mel Kiper Jr. makes predictable pick for Steelers in first NFL mock draft
- Steelers news: Brian Flores odds to land HC job, no projected compensatory picks, and more
- Why Jordan Addison to the Steelers is a good idea
- 4 reasons Steelers would have been embarrassed in the NFL playoffs
- The easiest cut the Pittsburgh Steelers will make in 2023