May 17, 2016 4 min read

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When I wrote earlier this year that the Steelers would survive the loss of cornerback Brandon Boykin, or, Rod Blount Boykin, as I dubbed him thanks to the legendary status he had achieved with many fans, some continued to lament.

“He never got a chance,” some said.

“The Steelers never played him,” said others.

Neither of those statements were true, but that doesn’t stop the narrative.

I wonder what the Carolina Panthers fans are saying about him now?

Just a little over a month after signing Boykin as a free agent to a one-year, $840,000 deal, the Panthers released him, making the cornerback a free agent once again.

I’ve got nothing against Boykin. He was always approachable in the locker room and he always answered my questions respectfully and thoughtfully. And he seemed to be a good teammate.

But the Steelers coaching staff had a problem with him not getting lined up properly. He also had a propensity to leave his feet in an attempt to make a play.

As my high school basketball coach always preached to us, if you jump out of position to make a play, you’d better make it. If not, you leave your teammates exposed.

I did receive a cryptic Tweet from somebody who also had the last name of Boykin regarding his situation in Pittsburgh. The person basically said that Boykin didn’t get a chance in Pittsburgh because head coach Mike Tomlin showed loyalty to the guys that were already there.

If that was the case, then why did Carolina cut him?

They brought in three rookies in the draft, but wouldn’t Boykin be better?

Again, I think Boykin is a legitimate NFL corner in a league that seemingly has too few of them. But there’s something else going on when you’re heading for your fourth team – assuming he signs somewhere – in under a year.

• I received an email fro msomehting called the Pro Football Journal that did a ranking of the All-Mid Decade Teams in the NFL, a spinoff of the league’s all-decade honors.

Linebacker James Harrison and safety Troy Polamalu were the only Steelers selected to the 2005-2015 team, which is fine.

Nobody is putting Ben Roethlisberger ahead of Tom Brady or Peyton Manning in those years.

But I did have an issue with the 1995-2005 team.

Guard Alan Faneca and outside linebacker Jason Gildon were both selected as second-team picks.

Faneca was second team to Will Shields and Larry Allen. That’s fine.

But Gildon?

Jason Gildon was a nice player. He’s the Steelers’ all-time leader in sacks and had some decent seasons. But I’m not taking him above Joey Porter.

Yes, Gildon played nine of his 10 seasons in the time period listed and recorded 78 of his 80 career sacks. But he was largely a one-trick pony in that regard. While he did force 15 career fumbles and recovered 11, he had just two career interceptions.

Porter, who began his career in 1999, had 53 sacks from 1999-2005. He also had eight interceptions – including four in 2002 – and forced 17 fumbles in that same time period.

He was the better all-around player to be sure.

If you’re going strictly on numbers, Gildon’s not a bad pick. But the disclaimer on the rankings said the players had to be active for at least six seasons in the time period to be considered.

Porter met that criteria and was a far more disruptive player than Gildon.

I don’t have an issue with him being ranked behind Junior Seau – the most disruptive defensive player in the game in his prime – or Derrick Brooks, but behind Gildon? I’m not buying it.