Nov 13, 2022; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Minnesota Vikings cornerback Kris Boyd (29) and linebacker Jordan Hicks (58) celebrate with linebacker Eric Kendricks (54) for recovering a fumble for a touchdown against the Buffalo Bills during second half at Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports.
All Kris Boyd wants to do is change his profile picture.
That’s it. On social media. A reasonable ask for a player excited about his new team and threads, right?
Well, it’s complicated. Boyd’s new team, the Arizona Cardinals, is taking an inordinate amount of time in getting the man new photos in redbird gear. The logistics must be dicey.
Unsurprisingly for Boyd, a firebrand, he’s a little peeved by it. On Day One of the 2023 NFL draft, he rather innocently tweeted, “Been here 4 weeks and I have 0 pictures for a new profile picture in the new threads…?”
Meanwhile, Boyd is trapped by a picture in a Vikings helmet, apparently more than ready to move on from the purple and horns to redness and birds. Here’s the Twitter profile picture at hand:
Fast forward to Monday, four days after the original request of Cardinals brass, and Boyd is still waiting. He tweeted on May 1st, “Still no pictures.… @AZCardinals.”
Boyd played just 37 defensive snaps for the Vikings in 2022, head coach Kevin O’Connell’s first year on the job, but was a keynote special teams performer. He was on the field 82% of the time for special teams, meaning some unknown Viking will step in this season to fill “the Boyd role.”
But he evidently wasn’t a priority to re-sign this offseason, joining the Cardinals in April. In the aftermath of his Minnesota exodus, Boyd posted to Instagram, “Viks nation, speaking specifically to the fans, the city of Minneapolis, and the players only!! Plus coach Hat & Daronte. My brothers, I love y’all dearly and appreciate y’all, and the fans for every relationship that was built and the love that was given! Know we locked!”
Arizona’s reluctance to provide new photos — a mundane ask for most NFL teams — might be a bit on-brand. The NFLPA published first-ever NFL team report cards in March, right before free agency, and the Cardinals ranked 31st of 32 teams in the business, peppered with Fs in various categories.
There is no explicit “provide pictures in a timely manner” tier, but the Cardinals standoffishness with Boyd coincides with the poor marks, on the whole. Amid the backlash of the awful NFLPA grades, including forcing players to pay for meals, Cardinals brass is attempting to improve, according to SI.com’s Albert Breer, “Arizona already had some renovations underway before Gannon and GM Monti Ossenfort were hired, or the NFLPA report card was released. The Cardinals have already upgraded their weight room and their training room, replaced the turf in their field house and invested in sports science initiatives. And, by the sounds of it, there’s more coming.”
Perhaps Arizona will hit Boyd’s request next. Cardinals — if you’re reading — get the man some basic photos. Hospitality 101.
The Vikings are rumored to possibly have a road preseason game at Arizona in August.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sal Spice. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.