Patriots’ Isaiah Bolden ‘excited to be back with the guys’ following scary injury situation in preseason game

Patriots

Bolden was discharged from the hospital on Sunday morning after undergoing evaluations and observations.

Isaiah Bolden made his first public statement following his scary injury in the Patriots’ preseason game against the Packers on Saturday.

“Appreciate the prayers more excited to be back with the guys,” Bolden tweeted on Sunday morning.

Bolden’s tweet came shortly after the news that he was discharged from a Green Bay hospital “after undergoing a series of evaluations and being held for overnight observations.”

“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 wrote in a statement on Sunday.

Bolden will also travel with the team back to Foxborough on Sunday. The Patriots were originally scheduled to head to Nashville for upcoming joint practices with the Tennessee Titans ahead of Friday’s preseason game. But “due to the circumstances surrounding the abrupt and unexpected ending” of Saturday’s game, the team opted to head home and practice in Foxborough this week.

Bolden suffered the injury when he inadvertently collided with teammate and linebacker Calvin Munson in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s game. The cornerback was motionless on the field for several moments before he was eventually placed on a stretcher and carted off the field. Shortly after, referee John Hussey announced that the game was suspended.

The exact injury Bolden suffered remains unknown.

Following the game, Patriots coach Bill Belichick and several of Bolden’s teammates shared thoughtful messages as they hoped the rookie would be OK.

“The last situation, in the bigger picture, overrode the game,” Belichick told reporters. “All saying a prayer for Isaiah. … Appreciated the way the league handled it. I think that was the right thing to do. … Kind of regroup and talk about the game later. But that’s kind of where things are for right now.”

“I think right now our primary concern is Isaiah, his wellbeing,” longtime Patriots captain Matthew Slater said. “Our whole team’s praying for him. Just hoping that things aren’t as serious as they seem.”

Patriots quarterback Mac Jones didn’t want to discuss on-field matters following his first outing of the preseason. Instead, he shared the relationship he’s had with Bolden since the two were in high school in Florida.

“That was definitely tough to see Isaiah go down like that and just hard to realize the whole situation. … Just want to be there for one another, want to be there for him, his family,” Jones said. “I’ve known him since high school. We played 7-on-7 football together. So definitely one of my brothers, but sounds like he’s doing a lot better from what they’re telling us, so that’s awesome.”