Eagles trade Boykin to Steelers for draft pick

In June, Brandon Boykin said he had grown tired of the annual story about his underdog chances to start outside at cornerback for the Eagles.

"It's getting real old for me," he said.

That story is now old news after the Eagles traded Boykin to the Steelers for a 2016 conditional fifth-round draft pick on Saturday. The pick could become a fourth-rounder depending on Boykin's playing time this season, an NFL source said.

He presumably will get a better opportunity to start in Pittsburgh than with the Eagles, with whom his size was viewed as a detriment to playing outside. The Eagles want long, rangy corners, and the generously listed 5-foot-10 Boykin had become pigeonholed in some respects.

"To the city of Philadelphia it's been real," Boykin said on Twitter. "You know I always played my heart out every time I hit the field. Always got love for you."

The Eagles had been trying to trade Boykin since March, but after free agency and the draft yielded several candidates to replace him, a deal was struck a day before training camp begins. Boykin is entering the last year of his rookie contract and was unlikely to return next season, even if he had stayed in Philly through 2015.

Rookie JaCorey Shepherd impressed during spring workouts and could get the first shot at playing in the slot. Walter Thurmond, whom the Eagles signed in March, has spent most of his career as a slot corner, but the Eagles moved him to safety during the spring.

Rookie Randall Evans spent most of his college career at Kansas State playing in the slot. Veteran E.J. Biggers has NFL experience inside. Jaylen Watkins is another candidate.

Byron Maxwell and Nolan Carroll were the top two outside corners during the spring. The Eagles project second-round rookie Eric Rowe as an outside corner. Maxwell also has experience playing inside and could move there when the Eagles are in their nickel defense.

Boykin was selected in the fourth round of the 2012 draft. He beat out Joselio Hanson as the slot that year and held on to that job for the next three seasons. He led the Eagles with six interceptions in 2013 despite playing only 50 percent of the snaps. His playing time decreased last season for various reasons, but his level of play arguably did not.

Boykin is just the latest from the Eagles' once-ballyhooed 2012 draft to be sent packing since Chip Kelly became coach. Defensive ends Fletcher Cox and Vinny Curry and linebacker Mychal Kendricks remain, although Kendricks' place on the roster could be tenuous if DeMeco Ryans shows that he is fully recovered from last season's ruptured Achilles tendon.

The Eagles now have eight draft picks for 2016. They have their own selections in each of the seven rounds except for the second (traded to the Rams along with Nick Foles for Sam Bradford). They have an additional third-round selection (from the Lions for a 2015 fourth-rounder). And they have the conditional fifth for Boykin.