Brandon Boykin can only LOL at this point

Brandon Boykin might be the NFL’s top nickelback. For some odd reason, nobody seems to want to keep him on their roster.

In another shocking offseason move, the Carolina Panthers released Boykin on Monday only weeks after signing him to a one-year deal worth $840,000.

When the news was announced, nobody seemed more surprised than Brandon Boykin himself. The veteran corner took to Twitter to laugh about life in the NFL. Here is what he shared with the world.

Brandon Boykin LOLs

The move raises a lot of questions. For one, why does Dave Gettleman hate paying anyone but rookie cornerbacks? That may have to wait for another day. A much more important question for now is what the role of the nickelback is in today’s NFL and how it will evolve.

A couple of hours later, Boykin joked that slot cornerback lives matter:

Recent trends suggest that nickels are going to become more and more valuable in the NFL as time goes on. With more wide receivers on the field, nickel formations may one day be the base defense for most teams. Some of them are already well on their way.

Why can’t football’s best nickelback keep a job, then?

AROUND COVER32

Twitter Tuesday: Star slot cornerback Boykin can only LOL

Madden Monday: Rob Gronkowski’s case against the curse

2016 Preview: Ranking the 2016 MVP Candidates

At least one team recognizes the value of a good slot cornerback. Back in March, the Seattle Seahawks signed Jeremy Lane to a four-year, $23 million deal that included $11 million in guarantees. How was Lane able to score such a sweet deal in March while Boykin is a free agent this late in the offseason? Maybe some nickelbacks are just luckier than others. Maybe Brandon Boykin should give Lane’s agent a call.

For what it’s worth, Pro Football Focus thinks Boykin outplayed Lane, at least in 2015. Boykin was ranked 38th overall at cornerback and rated 80.4 in pass coverage, while Lane was ranked #51 and rated just 72.3 in coverage. The eyeball test bears this out and also indicates that Boykin is better defending slot receivers than anyone else in the sport. Seriously, watch this guy at work:

What more could you possibly ask from a cornerback?

And yet Chip Kelly, Mike Tomlin and Ron Rivera have all let Boykin walk now. Is there something they know that we don’t? Whatever it is, it doesn’t make any sense from where we’re sitting.

Football is weird enough. The business of football is on another level.

Brandon Boykin will get paid by another NFL team, no doubt. Hopefully whoever it is has enough sense to put him on the field come September.

The post Brandon Boykin can only LOL at this point appeared first on Cover32.