After three seasons in Baltimore, wide receiver Miles Boykin was waived by the Ravens and claimed by the Steelers this offseason. Meaning he went from one side of a fierce rivalry to the other.
And Boykin admits that he used to hate Pittsburgh, not only because of the Ravens-Steelers rivalry, but also because he expected the Steelers to draft him in 2019 and was angry when they passed on him.
“It was crazy because I thought the Steelers were going to draft me originally,” Boykin said, via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “But when I got to Baltimore, it was like, ‘No, I hate Pittsburgh.’”
Now Boykin is in Pittsburgh, but he doesn’t hate Baltimore, and he says he understands why they decided to release him.
“I kind of knew about it since the end of the season. They kind of expressed that my hit on the salary cap was going to be detrimental to them,” Boykin said of his discussions with the Ravens. “They’re trying to work out deals with Lamar [Jackson] and other people . . . so I was kind of ready for it. I was prepared for it.”
Boykin said he’s loving the offseason program in Pittsburgh and that the Steelers have told him they think he can “be a difference maker, whether it’s special teams or receiver.”
“I’m just excited to get out there and get a chance to be a playmaker here,” Boykin said.
After showing some promise as a wide receiver in his first two seasons, Boykin played special teams almost exclusively in 2021. If he can contribute at wide receiver for the Steelers, he’ll get plenty of cheers in Pittsburgh, the city he used to hate.