GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — New England’s preseason game with the Green Bay Packers was called off on Saturday night after Patriots rookie cornerback Isaiah Bolden was carted off the field early in the fourth quarter.
The Patriots said after the game that Bolden had feeling in all his extremities, but had been taken to a local hospital for further tests and observation.
“We’re just keeping our fingers crossed,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said.
Bolden, a seventh-round pick from Jackson State, appeared to collide with teammate Calvin Munson while attempting to make a hit on a pass completion to Malik Heath of the Packers.
“It looks like just one of those collision hits, those freak hits that you see on rare occasions in this league, that you hate to see,” Patriots cornerback Jalen Mills said.
“We really couldn’t see him too much. It looked like he was moving and his eyes were open, but as of right now, just asking everybody to keep him in their prayers and we hope for the best.”
As medical officials treated Bolden, both teams left their respective sidelines and got on the field, with some players getting on one knee.
After Bolden was carted off the field, the two teams conferred and decided not to continue the game. The game stopped with the Patriots leading 21-17 with 10:29 left in the fourth quarter.
“This is not the AFC championship,” Patriots special teams player Matthew Slater said. “We’re not playing for records. It’s preseason Game 2. When you have an injury like that, it affects a lot of guys in a lot of different ways. Clearly our team was shaken by what happened. I think Coach made the right decision. That was tremendous leadership by him.”
The incident came 7 1/2 months after Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest and was resuscitated on the field after making what appeared to be a routine tackle against the Cincinnati Bengals on Jan. 2. Hamlin’s heart stopped as a result of commotio cordis, which is when a direct blow at a specific point in a heartbeat causes cardiac arrest.
Hamlin has since returned to the Bills and played in his hometown of Pittsburgh earlier in the day and had three tackles in a loss to the Steelers.
“Of course that’s in the back of all of our minds when something like that happens,” Mills said. “Like I said, his eyes were open and it looked like he was moving, but just to have that compassion, it’s a good sign that the league is taking that very serious.”
Slater praised Bolden as “a joy to be around” since the rookie arrived in New England.
“He’s a young man that’s always got a smile on his face, is always positive, always bringing great energy and great effort to practice,” Slater said.
OTHER INJURIES
Patriots WR Tre Nixon left with a shoulder injury late in the second quarter.
Packers S Tarvarius Moore and FB Henry Pearson suffered knee injuries. WR Dontayvion Wicks hurt his hamstring and OL Jake Hanson had a shin injury.
UP NEXT
Patriots: Have joint practices with the Tennessee Titans on Tuesday and Wednesday before playing an exhibition game Friday in Nashville.
Packers: Host the Seattle Seahawks next Saturday.
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