Cincinnati Bengals’ wide receiver, Tyler Boyd, expressed his belief that he was the missing factor that kept the team from making back-to-back Super Bowl appearances. Boyd met with reporters for the first time since the AFC championship loss to Kansas City, where he suffered a deep thigh bruise early in the second quarter of the 23-20 loss. The veteran wide receiver said he would have finished the game if he was at least 80% healthy. Boyd added that he felt like he let the team down, and he believes that he was the key factor in winning the game.
At the time of the injury, Boyd had two catches for 40 yards. He appeared to suffer the injury following a 24-yard completion. Boyd’s left leg was caught beneath Kansas City safety Justin Reid as Reid made the tackle. When Boyd stood up following the play, he immediately favored his left leg. Boyd tried various treatments, such as numbing cream and ibuprofen, to get back on the field but was not able to play in the second half. He added that he did not want to get back on the field and be out of rhythm with quarterback Joe Burrow.
Bengals coach Zac Taylor, the team’s offensive play-caller, said that losing Boyd presented a key challenge given how much Kansas City was double-teaming the team’s outside receivers, Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase. Boyd’s ability to fight through injuries has been well documented throughout his career. In Week 16 of the 2019 season, Boyd staggered to the line of scrimmage despite dealing with a serious cramp, a move that allowed Cincinnati to score a tying touchdown at the end of regulation. Last year, Boyd missed Week 15 because of a dislocated finger where a bone came through the skin. He returned for the rest of the team’s games, including the entire postseason.
Boyd is one of the few players who has remained on the roster since the 2019 season when the Bengals had the worst record in the NFL. If the team decides to cut Boyd, they gain roughly $8.9 in salary cap space while incurring just $1.4 million in dead money, according to Roster Management System. Boyd has not received any indication that he will not play the final year of his current contract with the team that drafted him in 2016. He stated that the team loves him in the front office, respects him, and he goes about things the right way.
Taylor echoed that sentiment after Boyd’s first practice, where the Bengals approached the end of Phase 2 of offseason workouts. The coach said Boyd has encapsulated the primary tenets of the team’s culture, from daily consistency to being open and honest when asked for his thoughts on the team. Boyd enters this season ranked fifth in receptions in the franchise’s history (446) and ninth in total receiving yards (5,333). Although numbers and money are not Boyd’s highest priority as he approaches what could be his final year with the club.
Boyd said he loves the Bengals’ rivalry with the Chiefs and is excited about the team’s new addition, former Kansas City left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. Boyd and the Bengals will be looking to get back to the AFC title game for another crack at playing for a Super Bowl, a game the Bengals lost at the end of the 2021 campaign. Boyd said that winning is his biggest priority, and he believes that the Bengals are a winning franchise now and will continue to win.
Tyler Boyd expressed his belief that he was the missing factor that kept the Cincinnati Bengals from making back-to-back Super Bowl appearances. He suffered a deep thigh bruise early in the second quarter of the 23-20 loss to Kansas City. Boyd said he would have finished the game if he was at least 80% healthy. Although Boyd missed the second half of the game, he has fought through injuries throughout his career. Boyd is one of the few players who has remained on the roster since the Bengals had the worst record in the NFL in 2019. While he has not received any indication that he will not play the final year of his current contract with the team, he stated that the team loves him in the front office. Boyd said that winning is his biggest priority, and he believes that the Bengals are a winning franchise now and will continue to win.
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