Free agent wide receiver Tyler Boyd is signing with the Tennessee Titans on a one-year deal worth up to $4.5 million, a source told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler on Tuesday.
The move reunites Boyd with new Titans coach Brian Callahan, who was Boyd’s offensive coordinator with the Cincinnati Bengals since 2019.
In Tennessee, Boyd will join a depth chart that already includes free agent addition Calvin Ridley, who signed a four-year, $92 million dollar deal in March, and five-time Pro Bowl selection DeAndre Hopkins. It also includes 2022 first-round pick Treylon Burks, whose future with the Titans has been a topic of speculation this offseason.
Burks has not made a significant impact since being taken No. 18 overall two years ago. He has only accounted for 49 receptions for 665 yards and a touchdown in 22 games.
The coaching staff has said they plan to have Burks line up in multiple spots across the formation, just the same as they likely intend to utilize Boyd and Hopkins.
“He’s a first-round pick, obviously you can see all of the talent,” offensive coordinator Nick Holz has said of Burks. “But he’s going to get what he earns.”
Callahan has mentioned the slot position as an area where the Titans were lacking.
“We have to have someone emerge for us at the slot position receiver, when we’re in 11 personnel,” Callahan said before the draft. “You need depth at every position. Guys that are fast, explosive and physical, you can’t have enough of them.”
Having previously played mostly in the slot under Callahan, Boyd should fill that need in Tennessee.
Boyd started 13 of his 17 appearances last season — his eighth with the Bengals — and finished with 67 catches for 667 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns. He ranks sixth in franchise history in receiving yards (6,000) and fourth in receptions (513), while also scoring 31 touchdowns.
Boyd was one of the most instrumental players of Cincinnati’s turnaround from the NFL’s worst team to nearly winning the Super Bowl. The eighth-year player was one of four holdovers on last year’s roster whom coach Zac Taylor inherited from Marvin Lewis’ staff when he was hired in 2019.
From an offensive perspective, Boyd helped the transition from the Andy Dalton–A.J. Green tandem that the Bengals relied upon for nearly a decade to the current version of the Bengals that features quarterback Joe Burrow and wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase.
Boyd, 29, led the Bengals in total receptions from 2018 to 2020. On top of being a reliable slot receiver, he was a steadying locker room presence and helped in developing Chase, a three-time Pro Bowler who was drafted in 2021, and wide receiver Tee Higgins, who was drafted along with Burrow in 2020.
ESPN’s Turron Davenport and Ben Baby contributed to this report.