Boykin on Chips -
“uncomfortable around grown men of our culture."
"He can't relate and that makes him uncomfortable,” Boykin added in the text message. “He likes total control of everything, and he don't like to be uncomfortable. Players excel when you let them naturally be who they are, and in my experience that hasn't been important to him, but you guys have heard this before me.”
Here's a look at the other cornerbacks on the Eagles roster:
HEIGHT WEIGHT
E.J. Biggers 6-0 185
Nolan Carroll 6-1 205
Byron Maxwell 6-1 207
Jaylen Watkins 5-11 194
Randall Evans 6-0 195
Denzel Rice 6-0 196
Eric Rowe 6-1 205
JaCorey Shepherd 5-11 199
Brandon Boykin 5-10 185
Aside from all being larger than Boykin, the other thing all those defensive backs have in common is that they're all black, which makes it difficult to give credence to his claims that race had much of anything to do with it.
And according to Kelly, there's now depth at a position that was one of the Eagles' weakest last season. That, coupled with his size and the fact that they were able to get something in return, made Boykin -- entering the final year of his contract -- expendable.
“It more speaks to what our depth was at the position,” Kelly said. “We’re going to have to make some tough decisions at corner and we’re not going to be able to keep them all.”
The Steelers, however, had been interested in Boykin for some time, according to the coach. So much so, that this isn't the first time Pittsburgh made an offer.
“They actively pursued him. They wanted to trade for him at the draft and we turned it down,” Kelly said.
What sweetened the deal for the Eagles is that the fifth round pick they received from the Steelers becomes a fourth-rounder if Boykin plays 60 percent of his new team's defensive snaps this season.