Case Keenum isn’t the only new player joining the Chicago Bears.
While the team didn’t make the addition of Caleb Williams’ newest backup in the quarterbacks room, the team did announce a pair of signings on Thursday evening:
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) April 3, 2025Tinley Park's very own
We have signed @MBoykin814 to a one-year contract
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) April 3, 2025Wade's World 🌎
We have signed Shaun Wade to a one-year contract
ICYMI: Quarterback Case Keenum is Reportedly Signing With the Bears
Who are Shaun Wade and Miles Boykin —and why did they sign with the Chicago Bears?
Let’s start with Miles Boykin, a wide receiver with local ties who played his high school ball at Providence Catholic, performed collegiately at Notre Dame, and is a native of nearby Tinley Park. A third-round pick (93rd overall) by the Baltimore Ravens in 2019, Boykin has played 73 games (including 25 starts) in five seasons as a pro. Boykin spent the first three years of his career with the Ravens before spending the 2022 and 2023 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Listed at 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, Boykin had 38 catches, 498 receiving yards, and 7 touchdowns to his name.
If you’re unfamiliar with his game, this is what NFL Draft analyst Lance Zierlein wrote about Boykin in his pre-draft profile in 2019:
Lingering on his tape can cause excessive focus on his inconsistencies and areas of improvement, but projecting his traits with additional coaching makes more sense. Boykin’s size, length and athleticism offers exciting potential as an outside receiver with mismatch potential, but he will have to learn how to counter press, improve his routes and become more competitive when the ball is in the air. His size won’t matter if he doesn’t learn to impose it on others. If that happens, he’ll become an eventual starter with a high ceiling.
I’m not expecting much out of Miles Boykin as he arrives in Chicago. But Boykin could be fun to watch as a receiver who is on the bottom half of the depth chart and could be fighting for a roster spot when training camp gets underway. Those types of players are always fun to follow in the summertime.
Like Boykin, new Bears defensive back Shaun Wade has ties to the Ravens. Wade, a fifth-round pick (160th overall) in the 2021 NFL Draft, has played just 20 games (6 starts) in three seasons as a pro — and none of them came with the team that drafted him. The Ohio State product debuted with the New England Patriots in 2021 and played three seasons out east. Wade’s collegiate career was legit as he earned Consensus All-American status, first-team All-Big Ten honors, and picked up the conference’s Defensive Back of the Year award in 2020.
Here is what Zierlein weighed in with when Wade was a draft-eligible prospect in 2021:
Teams could still be intrigued with Wade’s size and length, but he looked slow in recovery mode and lacked confidence and body control when attempting to match routes and stay connected in man coverage this past season. He doesn’t have shifty, short-area footwork to match quicker slots and was beaten badly as an outside corner when matched against future NFL talent. Wade needs to get his fundamentals right and find the right position and scheme fit in order to be more than an average backup in the league.
All things considered, Shaun Wade’s profile is the type that I’d be interested in seeing a coach like Al Harris or Dennis Allen get their hands on to see if they can get some useful snaps out of them this summer. Again, I’m not looking for too much out of Wade. But his story could be a fun one worth following.
written by
Luis C. Medina
Luis C. Medina is a Senior Writer at Bleacher Nation. Since launching BN's Bears wing in 2017, he has written about 5 head coaches, 6 play-callers, and 10 starting quarterbacks. Previously, Luis wrote about the Cubs and MLB at BN (2015-16) and worked in the Chicago Tribune sports department (2011-16). He also co-hosted a Cubs postgame show, Outside the Ivy, in 2019. You can find him on Twitter here.
