The New England Patriots continue to receive good news about Isaiah Bolden after a scary scene unfolded over the weekend in Green Bay.
The Patriots' rookie cornerback was transported to a Green Bay-area hospital Saturday night after colliding with teammate Calvin Munson early in the fourth quarter of New England's preseason game against the Packers. The teams agreed to call off the rest of the game with 10:27 remaining in the fourth quarter, and the Patriots announced Sunday morning they had canceled this week's joint practices with the Titans in Tennessee.
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Fortunately, Bolden was able to fly back with the team Sunday, and head coach Bill Belichick said he spoke to the 23-year-old on their trip to New England.
"Isaiah came back with us. It was good to see him. Had an opportunity to talk to him. He's alert and traveled with the team, so that was good," Belichick said Monday morning in a video press conference.
According to NFL Media's Ian Rapoport, Bolden "woke up with a headache" on Sunday but was otherwise "doing well" and in "good spirits" as of Sunday night.
That's obviously encouraging news after Bolden was taken off the field in a stretcher Saturday night, leaving several of his Patriots teammates visibly shaken. While it's still unclear when he can return to action, Bolden at least appears to have avoided a very serious injury.
As for the team's decision to return home to Foxboro instead of continuing on to Tennessee, Belichick said the team reached that conclusion in the visitors' locker room at Lambeau Field following the game's postponement.
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"Just felt like after the (Packers) game, we had a little bit of time there in the locker room just to kind of look at the situation, and made the decision that the best thing for the team would be to come back here and not go to Tennessee," Belichick said. "That's a hard decision, as much as we'd like to work against them, just tried to balance the situation. There's a number of things involved."
While Belichick declined to elaborate on each specific factor, he did admit the apparent severity of Bolden's injury played into the team's decision. Patriots players seemed very appreciative of how Belichick handled the situation, with veteran special teamer and co-captain Matthew Slater saying it was one of the "proudest moments" he's had in 16 years playing for Belichick.
The Patriots certainly aren't taking the week off, however. They'll be back at practice on Tuesday and Wednesday in Foxboro, then travel to Nashville on Thursday ahead of their preseason finale with the Titans on Friday.