Steelers getting cold feet on Tyler Boyd?

Boyd may not join the Bengals’ rivals after all.

Longtime Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tyler Boyd will be playing football elsewhere this upcoming season, and ever since free agency opened, his hometown Pittsburgh Steelers have been the reported favorite.

However, a report from The Athletic’s Mark Kaboly indicates that the Steelers may have other plans.

“Some people (not all) inside Steelers not 100% on board with signing Tyler Boyd,” Kaboly tweeted. “There is still time to work things, and everything is still on the table, but it doesn’t appear anywhere close to a sure thing like it appeared to be a week ago at this time.”

Boyd has been a Bengal for his entire eight-year NFL career thus far, competing against the Steelers twice a year. However, he is from Pittsburgh and played his college football for the Pitt Panthers.

Pittsburgh traded away fellow receiver Diontae Johnson to the Carolina Panthers last week, so the Steelers would be a destination that would offer Boyd playing time, but his hometown team may not bring him in after all.

If the Bengals are ultimately going to re-sign Boyd, the only way that happens is if he doesn’t develop a market before returning to Cincinnati on a minimal deal. And if the Steelers are saying no thanks, you have to wonder if Boyd’s market really isn’t developing…