Steelers had a really good reason not to bring back local product to fix WR problem

The Pittsburgh Steelers were in the market for wide receiver help ahead of the Nov. 5 trade deadline. Omar Khan was eventually able to land Mike Williams from the New York Jets in a last-second deal, but the Steelers whiffed on several more appealing options. DeAndre Hopkins' early success in Kansas City is a prime example of what Pittsburgh missed out on.

Another popular hypothetical was Pittsburgh native Tyler Boyd, a former AFC North rival with the Cincinnati Bengals who is currently stationed with the Tennessee Titans. It has been a rather middling campaign for the veteran, tallying 21 receptions for 184 yards across eight appearances. His 8.8 yards per catch average is a career-low. That said, it's important to remember context. The Titans' offense is a unique brand of disaster right now and there's a good chance Boyd would look better in a new situation.

Unfortunately, the Steelers were never really on the table. Boyd is a Pitt alum who grew up just outside the city, but Boyd's relationship with his hometown team has been under a lot of stress in recent years. So much so, according to Mark Kaboly on 93.7 The Fan, that a high-ranking member of the organization flatly rejected the mere premise of bringing Boyd to Pittsburgh.

"I don’t know about Mike Tomlin, specifically, not liking [Boyd] because of what he said," Kaboly said (h/t Steelers Depot). “I just know that the Steelers weren’t interested in him. Somebody within the organization, player-wise, pretty much stood up and said, ‘Nope, we don’t want him here.’ It wasn’t the coach, it was a player [who], I think, must have had some pull."

Steelers 'weren't interested' in trading for hometown wideout Tyler Boyd

So, what's all the hubbub about? Why all this strong, negative energy?

Well, Boyd brought it upon himself. Hopefully Boyd never harbored a deep, secret desire to play in a Steelers uniform, because he basically killed that possibility with his own two hands — or, more accurately, his own mouth. Boyd got in the habit of criticizing the Steelers during his tenure with the Bengals. Evidently, that didn't go over well in PGH.

In 2021, Boyd accused the Steelers of throwing in the towel late in a Bengals victory. When asked a full year later about the incident, Pittsburgh star Minkah Fitzpatrick did not have a short memory.

"I’m not necessarily dwelling on it but I’m going to remember."

That was not the only instance of Boyd drawing the ire of various Steelers. Once, referring to former Steeler-turned-Bengals teammate Mike Hilton, Boyd told reporters, "[Hilton] was just saying how he didn’t feel valued by them." The Pitt alum also flatly stated that he "wasn't a big Steelers fan anyway" growing up. So this bad blood has been percolating for a while, perhaps since Boyd's childhood.

It's hard to blame the Steelers for axing Boyd from their wishlist. His dynamic route tree and postseason experience would've been useful for such a young and volatile WR room, but alas, the Steelers were forced to look elsewhere. Odds are Mike Williams is a more productive option anyway, so Pittsburgh won't lose sleep over this.