Notre Dame football and the Chicago Bears have had a long history of overlap and this NFL offseason has spoken largely to that. Already the Bears have signed former Notre Dame standouts Scott Daly, Nick McCloud, and Durham Smythe to contracts and on Thursday, announced the signing of another former Fighting Irish player.
Wide receiver Miles Boykin, who played at Notre Dame from 2015-2018, has signed with the Bears. Boykin has played in the NFL since 2019. His first two professional seasons were spent with the Baltimore Ravens before his last two were spent with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Boykin has mainly contributed on special teams in the NFL but does have seven career touchdown receptions to his name, all of which came his first two seasons in Baltimore.
At Notre Dame Boykin was the leading receiver on the 2018 team that earned the program's first-ever spot in the College Football Playoff. Boykin caught 59 passes for 872-yards and eight touchdowns that season, but it was a play he doesn't show up in the box score for that I always remember him for in blue and gold (and white).
Leading 17-10 in the fourth quarter of the regular season finale at USC, Notre Dame faced a third-and-five from around midfield. Quarterback Ian Book dumped a screen pass to Tony Jones Jr. and after Jones picked up more than enough for the first down, Boykin provided the boom to launch him to the game-sealing touchdown.
All the best to Boykin with the Bears as he's headed to his hometown NFL team having grown up in Tinley Park and attended high school at traditional Illinois football powerhouse Providence.