Bengals receiver Tyler Boyd had stayed away from the team’s voluntary offseason work until Tuesday. After getting a phone call from coach Zac Taylor last week asking about his plans, Boyd was at the practice facility working with his teammates again.
“I just feel like I wanted to come around, bring camaraderie. I miss the guys,” Boyd said, via video from Mike Petraglia of Jungle Roar. “Even though I was away, just spending time with my family, quality time with my daughter, I just felt empty not being around my guys and just being there for them.”
Boyd is entering the final year of his contract, due to make $8.45 million in base salary and count $10.3 million against the salary cap. The Bengals likely aren’t going to be able to keep Boyd, Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase, so this could be Boyd’s final season in Cincinnati.
“This is my home for now,” Boyd said. “I just ain’t going to worry about the unexpected. I’m here to finish this year out and whatever happens, happens, because I know we have a very, very high chance of making the Super Bowl and even winning. This is where I want to be. Whether I come up with a new deal or not, I’ve got to just go out there, and I’m going to be me.
“I’m very appreciative of them still wanting me to be around and knowing they don’t want to trade me and things like that. At the end of the day, I’ve just got to help guys get better. I ain’t going to be playing ball forever. I might not be here forever, but I’m going to always love this franchise and I’m going to always be a Bengal.”
Boyd said after Tuesday’s practice he was in better shape than he thought.
“It felt great. I’ve been working out, conditioning. I felt good out there,” he said. “I usually come in feeling like maybe I ain’t ready, but I was more than ready than expected. But it’s still Day 1. I got my legs under me. Just happy to be around the guys again.”
Boyd did reveal the reason he exited the AFC Championship Game after only 15 snaps. He took a deep thigh bruise after catching two passes for 40 yards.
The thigh is fully healed.
“Got kneed, and it sucked because I did everything I could to try to come back -- numbing cream, ibuprofen -- but I just felt like I could be at least 80 percent, and I didn’t want to go out there and not be on the same page as Joe [Burrow],” Boyd said. “I just felt like we had enough depth for guys like T.I. [Trenton Irwin] and other guys to come in and play at a faster pace than what I felt like I could do. I wish I was able to do it, but things happen.”
Boyd’s 58 catches and 762 yards last season were his fewest since 2017 when he played only 10 games his second season in the league. He still scored five touchdowns, though, and averaged 13.1 yards per catch.