Pittsburgh Steelers: What the heck happened this weekend?

Welcome to the Steelers, Brandon Boykin

On Saturday, Brandon Boykin was about to leave the Eagles training facility when security called him back. It was then when he met with Chip Kelly and was told he’d been traded to the Steelers.

Drama ensued, but that has nothing to do with Boykin and the Steelers, so I won’t even get into it. But if you don’t know what I’m talking about, feel free to read about it here.

So let’s get back to Boykin! His presence is welcomed in Pittsburgh’s secondary, especially after losing Troy Polamalu and Ike Taylor to retirement in the offseason.

Boykin, who’s entering the final year of his rookie contract, was a solid slot cornerback for Philadelphia, recording 114 total tackles, 31 passes defended, four forced fumbles, and seven interceptions. He’ll be joining a defense that ranked 25th in the league in picks.

Pittsburgh is not one to make a splash during free agency, so it was no surprise that they didn’t acquire any players except for Senquez Golson and Doran Grant in this year’s draft. But they knew that wouldn’t be enough to fill the missing pieces in their secondary. The Steelers gave a lot of money to Cortez Allen (4-year, $24.6 million deal) before the 2014 season, but it looked like the money in his pockets was weighing him down as he struggled last year. William Gay didn’t have the most successful season either.

Which leads us to Boykin, who is arguably the best cornerback on the Steelers now. But since he may be Pittsburgh’s best shot at having a respectable secondary, Tomlin will probably limit his play in the Hall of Fame game to prevent any injuries. Plus, he will need some time to master the playbook.

So although we won’t see number 25 on the field too much against the Vikings, Steelers fans can get excited knowing their secondary has just received a much-needed boost.

Next: Martavis Bryant: Pittsburgh Steelers' fourth Killer B

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