Patriots & WR Anquan Boldin Had Mutual Interest Following Injury To Julian Edelman

September 3, 2017

A league source tells Ben Volin of the Boston Globe that the Patriots and retired WR Anquan Boldin had “mutual interest” in bringing him to New England following the injury to Julian Edelman.

While Boldin remains an interesting possibility for the Patriots, it would require the Bills to release him from the reserve/retired list and it’s unlikely they do so in order to allow him to join a division rival like New England.

Boldin explained his recent decision to retire a few weeks ago 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.