Veteran WR Anquan Boldin Wants To Play Again, Asks Bills To Trade Him

Adam Schefter of ESPN obtained a letter from the Bills that shows have granted veteran WR Anquan Boldin permission to speak to other teams about a trade, but he won’t be allowed to visit, tryout, take a physical, or discuss a new contract with another team.

WR Anquan Boldin has expressed interest in playing again and Bills have given his agent permission to shop him, per letter ESPN obtained. pic.twitter.com/Cxfo3Oi6bk

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 26, 2017

Ben Volin of the Boston Globe reported back in September that Boldin and the Patriots had “mutual interest” in bringing him to New England following the injury to Julian Edelman.

In order for this to be an option, the Bills would either have to trade him or grant him his release, as they placed him on the reserve/retired list coming out of the preseason.

Boldin explained his decision to retire during an appearance on Sirius XM NFL Radio.

“It wasn’t a decision that I made all of a sudden,” Boldin said, via Pro Football Talk. “It was something that I had been dealing with for a couple years. I always felt like football would be my passion, football would get me past a lot of things. When I stepped up to the podium, what I said was honestly true. But just seeing things that transpired over the last week or so, I mean, I think for me, there’s something bigger than football at this point. It’s kind of shocking for me to say that because football has been something that I’ve dedicated my life to. I can remember as a kid wanting to get to the NFL and wanting to be a professional football player. I dedicated my life to that and I never thought anything would take the place of that passion, but for me it has.”

When asked about the possibility of returning to the NFL later on in the year, Boldin said he is “done with the sport of football.” However, that no longer appears to be the case.

Boldin, 36, is a former second-round pick of the Cardinals back in 2003. He spent seven years in Arizona before being traded to the Ravens in 2010. Baltimore later traded him to the 49ers where’s he’s remained for the past three seasons.

Boldin finished out his two-year, $12 million contract with the Ravens before signing a one-year contract with the Lions last July. Boldin signed another one-year deal with the Bills a few weeks ago worth $2.75 million.

For his career, Boldin played 14 seasons for the Cardinals, Ravens, 49ers and Lions. He caught 1,076 passes for 13,779 yards receiving to go along with 82 touchdowns. He was a three-time Pro Bowl selection.