Former Vikings CB Joins Arizona Cardinals
Josh Frey
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Another domino in the Minnesota Vikings free agency period has fallen. This time, the domino is former Vikings CB Kris Boyd, who is signing with the Arizona Cardinals, per a report by Cardinals beat writer Darren Urban. The details of the contract are unknown as of this time.
Boyd, a former seventh-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, spent his first four NFL seasons with the Vikings after playing his college ball at Texas.
With the Vikings, he quickly turned into a success story, especially considering where he was drafted. He made the 53-man roster during his rookie season, and immediately appeared in all 16 games.
In that rookie season, he largely held a special teams role, playing just 96 defensive snaps, but he recorded 22 tackles, 2 TFLs, and a pass defense.
2020 saw Boyd’s role increase to much more of a defensive focus, particularly because of the injuries that plagued Minnesota’s defense throughout the season, particularly their already-thin secondary.
Boyd was one of the players that suffered injuries, spending a chunk of the season on IR with a shoulder injury. However, in the 10 games that he appeared in, he started 5 of them with the defense.
In all, Boyd played 343 defensive snaps with the Vikings, recording 34 tackles, a TFL, 2 passes defended and a forced fumble.
Over the final two seasons of his tenure in Minnesota, Boyd once again largely returned to a special teams role. In 2021, he played 15 games, including 1 defensive start, with 26 tackles and 2 fumble recoveries.
Then, 2022 saw him be a major spark in what was one of the NFL’s better special teams units for the Vikings, recording 13 tackles, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery. This forced fumble and recovery came against the New Orleans Saints in Week 4 on a punt return by Deonte Harty.
Boyd now joins an Arizona Cardinals team that recently lost a main starter at CB to the Vikings. That corner is, of course, Byron Murphy. The Cardinals cornerback room now contains Boyd, Rashan Felton, Nate Hairston (another former Viking), Antonio Hamilton, Christian Matthew, and Marco Wilson.
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho with a bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.