Weeks ago Anquan Boldin made the news by announcing his retirement. Fast forward to today, he is back in the news with the possibility of joining the New England Patriots. The Patriots are down a man as Julian Edelman is out for the season with a torn ACL. Now, the defending Super Bowl champions could try and persuade one of the best wideouts in the game for a return according to Ben Volin of the Boston Globe.
Boldin's original reason for leaving
Boldin signed a contract with the Buffalo Bills. After signing his deal, the Bills made a shocking move by trading former number one receiver Sammy Watkins to the Los Angeles Rams.
The Bills believed that they could still contend in the league, and made comments about having a receiver like Boldin on the team to help lead them.
Days later, Boldin told the world that he was going to leave the NFL and focus on advocacy work with his wife. Boldin has a chance to make the Hall of Famer and has built a reputation as one of the league's toughest receivers. He wanted to put his pads up to focus on making the world a better place.
Patriots are 'intriguing' option
Of course, the Patriots are interesting. They have made the Super Bowl twice in the last three seasons. Plus, he would have one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time in Tom Brady throwing to him. Boldin has racked in yards with players like Joe Flacco, Matthew Stafford, and Kurt Warner throwing to him.
Imagine what his stats would look like with Brady throwing.
Boldin joining is unlikely
It would take a lot for Boldin to join the Patriots. If Boldin decided to return, he would still be under contract with the Bills. The Bills would have to release Boldin, which is highly unlikely because they now know that he would sign with someone in their division, who they play two times a year.
That would mean that the Patriots would have to trade for Boldin. That is also unlikely because the Patriots would not want to trade for a 36-year-old wide receiver who turns 37 at the beginning of October.
The Patriots just traded for Phillip Dorsett with the Indianapolis Colts. Dorsett may not be the caliber of talent that Boldin is, but that signals that the Patriots have made the move they wanted.
Boldin could come back and try and move up the career receptions list. He is currently ninth on the list, and if he came back, could finish fourth all time, which would secure his place in the Hall of Fame even more. However, signs show that Boldin is probably going to stay retired.
