Bills’ Boldin Plans To Retire
ORCHARD PARK — Anquan Boldin abruptly announced his retirement just under two weeks after signing with the Buffalo Bills.
General manager Brandon Beane made it official Sunday night by saying the team respects Boldin’s decision to retire. Boldin’s decision came as a complete surprise especially after he talked about building on his legacy entering his 15th season and serving as a mentor for Buffalo’s young group of receivers.
The Bills, however, aren’t the same team since. Buffalo traded its top receiving threat in Sammy Watkins to the Los Angeles Rams as part of two blockbuster deals Aug. 11.
In a separate trade, the Bills acquired receiver Jordan Matthews from Philadelphia.
Boldin was the NFL’s 2015 Walter Payton Man of the Year winner and ranks in the top four among active receivers with 1,076 catches, 13,779 yards receiving and 82 touchdowns receiving.
Boldin appeared in just one preseason game for Buffalo, and finished with one catch for 5 yards in a 20-16 loss to Philadelphia on Thursday night.
MATTHEWS EXPECTS TO BE
READY FOR OPENER
Getting traded by the Philadelphia Eagles wasn’t easy on receiver Jordan Matthews. Getting hurt in his first practice with the Buffalo Bills didn’t help.
Putting his emotions and frustrations aside, Matthews vowed Sunday that he’ll be healthy, ready and focused to play in the season opener against the New York Jets in three weeks.
“I want to go out there and prove myself to my teammates. I want them to know that I’m tough, and I want them to know that I’m not the type of guy that wants to miss practice and just be there for games.” Matthews said. “I’m extremely confident I will be ready to play for Week 1.”
Matthews took the first step by participating in very light drills along the sideline before practice. He was limited to running and catching softly tossed balls in his first workout since chipping a bone in his sternum a week ago.
The injury occurred when he fell hard to the turf along the left sideline while attempting to make a leaping catch alongside cornerback Shareece Wright. And it happened early into Matthews’ first practice with Buffalo, two days after being acquired in a trade with Philadelphia.
The trade coincided with Buffalo making another trade in which the team dealt starting receiver Sammy Watkins to the Los Angeles Rams.
Matthews immediately felt pain in his chest, but finished practice because he didn’t want to acknowledge getting hurt.
“I kind of was in denial,” Matthews said. “I was like, ‘There’s no way I just hurt myself my first day as a Bill; just not possible.'”
Matthews, however, sought treatment immediately after practice when experiencing discomfort in his arms and chest.
Though his breathing has improved, Matthews still experiences pain when he sneezes or laughs. He even noted turning down a chance to see a comedy at the movies in fear of how much it might hurt.
Matthews still has lingering emotions over leaving Philadelphia, where in three seasons he established close bonds with numerous players, including quarterback Carson Wentz.
“I don’t think some of those emotions ever wear off, and you kind of don’t want them to because it means that it was something real,” he said.
The Bills are counting on Matthews to play a key role in what is now a totally retooled group of receivers following Watkins departure.
Though not as dynamic as Watkins, Matthews led Eagles receivers with a combined 225 catches, 2,873 yards and 19 touchdowns since being selected in the second round of the 2014 draft. He’s scheduled to fill a starting role alongside rookie second-round pick Zay Jones.
Matthews said he’s spent the past week focusing on learning the playbook and consulting with quarterback Tyrod Taylor.
“I’m a person that believes all these types of things happen for a reason,” Matthews said, referring to the injury. “So it must have been because I needed more time to get acclimated to the playbook and get to know these guys.”
He can’t wait to get back out on the field.
“I was excited to get back out there a little bit and run around,” Matthews said. “I’m really looking forward to getting back out there and playing.”
Earlier in the day, the Bills signed tight end Rory Anderson and safety Adrian McDonald. They freed up the roster spots by designating tight end Jason Croom as waived/injured and releasing punter Austin Rehkow.
Anderson has yet to play an NFL game since being selected by San Francisco in the seventh round of the 2015 draft. He missed his entire rookie season because of an ankle injury. McDonald has no NFL experience and was signed by San Diego as an undrafted free agent in 2016.
BILLS LINEMAN MAKES STATEMENT
ORCHARD PARK — The sight of defensive end Chris Long putting his arm around Eagles teammate Malcolm Jenkins during the national anthem inspired Buffalo Bills offensive lineman Cameron Jefferson to make his own statement.
Jefferson raised his fist in what he called a silent, peaceful gesture protesting racial inequality before the Bills’ preseason game at Philadelphia on Thursday night.
“It gave me some courage,” Jefferson said Sunday, referring to seeing Long support Jenkins, who stood with a raised fist. “Just seeing that togetherness on their team between different races, different people, I felt like that’s all I wanted. I wanted togetherness to Sbuild awareness for that.”
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