The Chicago Bears have signed Miles Boykin to a one-year deal. The 28-year-old receiver is coming home in a way. Boykin grew up in Tinley Park, a southwest suburb of Chicago about 45 minutes from Soldier Field. Boykin spent last season on the Seattle Seahawks practice squad after playing in the AFC North for the first five years of his career.
Boykin was drafted in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Ravens and after spending three seasons there, was claimed off waivers by their hated rival, the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played there for two years before landing in Seattle and now in Chicago for 2025.
Boykin has an opportunity with the Chicago Bears to get back into regular action with the NFL squad and with the uncertainty at the wide receiver position behind DJ Moore and Rome Odunze, he can determine how much he gets out of this one-year deal. Other players in contention to fill in behind Moore and Odunze are Olamide Zaccheaus, Tyler Scott, and former teammate of Boykin in Baltimore, Devin Duvernay.
Miles Boykin Signs 1-Year Deal With Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears added another wide receiver to their roster Thursday afternoon by signing Boykin to a one-year deal. Boykin, 28, spent 2024 in Seattle on the Seahawks’ practice squad and will look to get back on an active NFL roster with the Bears in 2025. Boykin grew up in the Chicagoland area and is hoping that maybe a hometown boost is what can give him the edge to get one of the 53 spots on the Chicago Bears 2025 roster.
Boykin was drafted in 2019 out of Notre Dame in the third round of the NFL Draft by the Baltimore Ravens. Boykin played for three years there, catching 33 passes for 470 yards and 7 touchdowns in 40 games before being waived. The Ravens’ hated rival, the Pittsburgh Steelers, scooped Boykin up and kept him on their roster for two seasons. Boykin caught 5 passes for 28 yards in 33 games. Boykin then had to go to Seattle to join their practice squad for one season last year.
Now Boykin is back home in Chicago looking to wrestle an active roster spot away from some of the other potential candidates the Bears have to fill in the wide receiver room behind DJ Moore and Rome Odunze. With Keenan Allen still unsigned, there is an open spot as the third wide receiver for the Chicago Bears. Boykin will have to contend with recent acquisitions like Olamide Zaccheaus Devin Duvernay, and Tyler Scott, who has been with Chicago for two seasons. Zaccheaus is likely to enter the offseason program as the favorite to prevail but Miles Boykin is assuredly in contention to make this roster and get some snaps in 2025.
Final Thoughts
I like the decision to bring in Boykin. Even though he is a local product who grew up about 15 minutes away from me, this Chicago Bears team needs depth. They have done a tremendous job of adding talent and depth at other, more crucial positions of need this offseason, and Boykin is the latest in a slew of additions to the possible wide-receiving core for 2025. After bringing in Duvernay and Zaccheaus, Ben Johnson and Ryan Poles are showing that they are concerned Allen won’t be back by continuing to add and look for possible options like Boykin.
For a small one-year deal, this isn’t a huge commitment and Boykin will likely end up on the practice squad and replace Collin Johnson as the big, physical depth piece for the Chicago Bears. If the Chicago Bears are going to rely on Boykin for important contributions out wide in 2025, it will hopefully be as a blocker and a gadget piece in a creative Johnson offense. If he is needed as a consistent pass catcher, some things will have gone awry and there could be bigger problems for the Bears and second-year Quarterback Caleb Williams to deal with.
