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Bill Belichick: Canceling joint practices with Titans was a ‘hard decision,’ but the best thing for the team

Patriots

“As much as we’d like to work against them, just tried to balance the situation. There was a number of things involved.”

Bill Belichick. AP Photo/Matt Ludtke
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Patriots cornerback Isaiah Bolden is in good spirits after being released from the hospital and flying back to Massachusetts with the team, coach Bill Belichick told reporters on Monday.

But, the head injury Bolden sustained on Saturday night was a scary one that forced New England’s preseason game against Green Bay to end with more than 10 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.

Instead of flying to Nashville for joint practices, the Patriots decided to regroup and practice in Foxborough this week before playing their third and final preseason game on Friday night.

“It just felt like after the game, you know, we had a little bit of time there in the locker room to just 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. “It was a hard decision. As much as we’d like to work against them, just tried to balance the situation. There was a number of things involved.”

Bolden spent the night at a Green Bay hospital before returning home with the team on Sunday. According to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport, Bolden suffered a concussion and woke up with a headache, but is doing well otherwise.

Belichick praised the team’s medical staff for their handling of the situation.

While the collision with teammate Calvin Munson left Bolden motionless on the field, medical personnel worked quickly to get the rookie cornerback loaded immobilized and loaded onto a stretcher.

“I just thought that those guys really did a great job with handling a very serious situation quickly, efficiently, and with the expertise that they all have,” said Belichick.

The Patriots are scheduled to practice in Foxborough on Tuesday and Wednesday before traveling to Tennessee on Thursday and wrapping up the preseason with a game on Friday.

“We’ll spend some time this morning, today, going through what we need the most, how to get the most out of these next two days,” Belichick said. “Because it’s really a two-day, I would say, planning process, rather than one.

“We’ve got to figure out how to maximize Tuesday, how to maximize Wednesday,” Belichick continued. “We kind of know what Thursday is going to look like, and today is going to be a day to review the film and kind of go back over the Green Bay game and even some of the things that came up in practice, and then we’ll be moving on. “

Originally posted 2023-08-21 14:39:55.