The New England Patriots' thoughts were all with Isaiah Bolden on Saturday night, and they can breathe a little easier Sunday morning.
The rookie cornerback has been released from Aurora Bay Medical Center in Green Bay after being held for overnight for further testing and evaluations and will travel back to New England with the team, the Patriots announced Sunday morning.
The Patriots also announced they have cancelled their joint practices with the Tennessee Titans, which were scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday in Nashville ahead of the teams' preseason matchup on Friday. Instead of traveling straight to Nashville, the Patriots will return home and hold normal practices in Foxboro this coming week.
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"We thank the medical staff at Aurora Bay Medical Center for their overnight evaluations, as well as the Patriots and Packers medical staffs for their immediate on-field response and care in transporting Isaiah to a nearby hospital," the Patriots said Sunday morning in a statement.
"Due to the circumstances surrounding the abrupt and unexpected ending to last night’s game, the Patriots will return to Foxborough today. The joint practices that were scheduled with the Tennessee Titans on Tuesday and Wednesday are cancelled. The team will train in Foxborough this week and fly to Nashville on Thursday for Friday night’s game."
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Bolden was carted off the field in the fourth quarter of Saturday's preseason game against the Green Bay Packers after suffering what appeared to be a serious head or neck injury following a collision with teammate Calvin Munson. After a lengthy discussion involving Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur, Patriots captain Matthew Slater and referee John Hussey, the teams decided to call off the rest of the game with 10:29 remaining in the fourth quarter.
After the game, Slater praised Belichick for taking the lead on ending the game early.
"I really appreciate what Coach Belichick did tonight. He took the initiative on [ending the game]," Slater told reporters. "This is not the AFC Championship. We're not playing for records. This is preseason game No. 2. We have an injury like that, and it affects a lot of guys in a lot of different ways. Clearly our team was shaken by what happened.
"I think coach made the right decision. That was tremendous leadership by him. Honestly, that was one of the proudest moments I’ve had as a guy who’s played for him for now 16 years to see what he did. There was no hesitation. I appreciate Coach LaFleur as well for standing with him on that. I think everyone acted swiftly, and it was the right call in this situation."
Bolden, the team's seventh-round pick out of Jackson State, had been enjoying a strong preseason and was making a push for the 53-man roster. That he's able to travel back with the team is great news for all parties involved.
