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Newsstand: Former Notre Dame wide receiver Miles Boykin signs with Giants

IMG_7504by:Jack Soble•04/10/24•

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miles boykin
Former Notre Dame wide receiver Miles Boykin (13), then with the Pittsburgh Steelers. (Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports)

If you want to be an NFL backup, you have to play special teams. Few understand that better than former Notre Dame wide receiver Miles Boykin.

Boykin signed with the New York Giants for his sixth NFL season, the team announced Tuesday afternoon. The Giants did not reveal the terms of his contract.

Boykin spent the 2022 and 2023 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers, with whom he caught a combined 5 passes for 28 yards in two years. He played sparingly on offense in 14 games this past season, primarily as a run blocker.

However, Boykin also played 538 snaps on special teams for the Steelers in those two years, across the punt, punt return, kickoff and kickoff return teams. He totaled 16 solo tackles and 2 assists, earning himself a reputation as a core special teamer.

With rookie contracts in the NFL being so inexpensive under the current collective bargaining agreement, veteran players with minimal offensive or defensive production often find themselves cast aside in favor of younger, cheaper reinforcements. The ones who stick around are almost always valuable on special teams, and Boykin is no exception.

Boykin broke out as a senior at Notre Dame, catching 59 passes for 872 yards and 8 touchdowns in 2018. He entered the 2019 NFL Draft and was selected in the third round (No. 93 overall) by the Baltimore Ravens.

The Tinley Park, Ill. native caught 32 passes for 464 yards in his first two seasons, but the Ravens released him in April 2022 after he only caught 1 pass in Year 3. One day later, the Steelers claimed him off waivers.

Boykin is one of two former Notre Dame players on the Giants, joining cornerback Nick McCloud. McCloud is a restricted free agent after the Giants tendered him a one-year, $2.9 million contract. He can either sign that or sign an offer sheet with another team, which New York would have five days to match.

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