Patriots Release Update on Bolden, Who’s in ‘Great Spirits’

Saturday night’s game between the Green Bay Packers and New England Patriots was suspended after cornerback Isaiah Bolden was carted off the field.

Author:
Bill Huber
Publish date:
Aug 20, 2023 9:34 AM EDT

In this story:

Green Bay Packers

GREEN BAY, Wis. – New England Patriots cornerback Isaiah Bolden is in “great spirits” and headed back to Foxborough, Mass., on Sunday with his teammates after spending a night in a Green Bay hospital following an injury during Saturday’s preseason game against the Packers.

Bolden was carted off the field during the fourth quarter of the game, which was suspended with 10:29 remaining. He was hit by a teammate as they tried to tackle Packers receiver Malik Heath.

While Bolden laid motionless on the field, many of the coaches and players flashed back to Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin being driven off the field after cardiac arrest.

Fortunately, the early updates on the rookie have been positive. On Sunday morning, the Patriots announced Bolden had been released from a Green Bay hospital following a night of testing and observation.

His agent, Peter von Gontard, told Packer Central that Bolden was in “great spirits” when they talked on Sunday morning.

“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 as part of a statement.

Following two joint practices and a preseason game against the Packers, the Patriots were scheduled to do it all again against the Tennessee Titans. However, the Patriots elected to fly back to Foxborough to finish their training camp at home before going to Nashville for Friday night’s preseason finale.

A seventh-round pick from Jackson State, Bolden was injured while trying to tackle Heath. Heath is from Jackson, Miss., and the two trained together before the Scouting Combine.

“I know him, so I didn’t want to finish,” Heath said afterward. “I felt bad, too. It was a good thing we didn’t finish it. It was scary, too. That could’ve happened to me on the hit.”

The Packers will meet on Sunday and practice on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday before closing the preseason at Lambeau Field against the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday.

The injury was a stark reminder that football is beautiful and brutal all at once. At one moment, Heath was celebrating powering through Bolden for a key first down. The next moment, Lambeau Field sat silent in fear.

“There’s a risk every time you go on the field,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said. “It’s an unfortunate part of our game that you never want to see. When it happens, it can be pretty scary. You never want to think about that going into a game because usually, when you’re thinking about getting hurt, something bad could happen. You want to go out there, play fast, play free. But, unfortunately, it’s part of the game.”