So Boldin retired?

[26CornerBlitz]

I find your position on this amazing, especially given your take on the Sammy situation...

 

Some posters were drawing conclusions about Sammy maybe being a prima donna, not being a great leader, not always taking care of his body in the best way, and maybe a bit soft. There were some interesting comments made by teammates like Shady and Boldin, comments Sammy made himself, and even comments from Leroi- who obviously gets some inside info. But no, nothing good enough for 26. We need concrete statements! None of this speculation! Link?... Some might ask- "You think they would ever say that publicly?"

 

Then the Boldin retirement... And the actual statement made by Boldin, and others, can't be correct. Only rampant speculation will do! You think he would ever say that publicly? Your inconsistencies show you are obviously pushing a narrative.

 

No. You obviously have a narrative about Sammy despite what's been reported by reputable media like Peter King and Sal Capaccio that refutes all of that. Boldin said nothing about Sammy despite the attempts of a link that were debunked.

 

Most likely not. And maybe he did retire because of what you and others were hyperventilating about or maybe he was being sincere. I don't know, for me it could go either way but I won't pretend to know for sure and unequivocally state it one way or the other. I'll leave that for those that are all about the Hot takes.

 

I have no reason to doubt his sincerity with regard to his humanitarian interests and I believe the state of the Bills after his arrival made his decision to step away from the game all the more easy.

[Andrew Son]

 

No. You obviously have a narrative about Sammy despite what's been reported by reputable media like Peter King and Sal Capaccio that refutes all of that. Boldin said nothing about Sammy despite the attempts of a link that were debunked.

Not the point, and I don't necessarily believe any of that about Sammy.

 

The point is that you were hammering posters for posting their opinions on Sammy. Demanding proof. Then, in this situation, you post absolute speculation with zero proof. Has your narrative not been debunked by all of the reports on why Boldin retired? Or do you only need "proof" when you don't agree?

[CommonCents]

 

No. You obviously have a narrative about Sammy despite what's been reported by reputable media like Peter King and Sal Capaccio that refutes all of that. Boldin said nothing about Sammy despite the attempts of a link that were debunked.

 

 

I have no reason to doubt his sincerity with regard to his humanitarian interests and I believe the state of the Bills after his arrival made his decision to step away from the game all the more easy.

So you believe him about the humanitarian cause but you don't believe him when he says it wasn't about playing with Sammy Watkins? You also believe him when he says he can still play, even though recent evidence shows him running with a piano on his back.

 

Do you think there is any chance that finally his age and all those hits are taking their toll on him and it hurts to get out of bed after a game or practice? Or that it hurts him to watch film and see that he isn't the elite player he once was?

[Bills Fan in MD]

If Boldin gets into the Hall of Fame, he should go in as a Bill.

[26CornerBlitz]

So you believe him about the humanitarian cause but you don't believe him when he says it wasn't about playing with Sammy Watkins? You also believe him when he says he can still play, even though recent evidence shows him running with a piano on his back.

 

Do you think there is any chance that finally his age and all those hits are taking their toll on him and it hurts to get out of bed after a game or practice? Or that it hurts him to watch film and see that he isn't the elite player he once was?

 

I have no reason to doubt his sincerity with regard to the causes he believes in as it's been reflected in his off field pursuits. He said he came to Buffalo for more than a chance to play with Watkins. With the quote being per Carucci "Boldin said the events of Charlottesville influenced his thinking. Said he joined #Bills for more than chance to play w Watkins." Seems like a combination of factors led to his decision to step away.

 

With regard to his ability to still play, I said even before he took the field against PHI that the correct role for him was as a slot receiver. It was no surprise that he doesn't have the requisite speed to play on the outside.

[IDBillzFan]

 

Most likely not. And maybe he did retire because of what you and others were hyperventilating about or maybe he was being sincere. I don't know, for me it could go either way but I won't pretend to know for sure and unequivocally state it one way or the other. I'll leave that for those that are all about the Hot takes.

 

I would add that we know one thing to be true about all of this: we have no control over it except to choose if we want to continue to watch and support.

 

That's it.

[inkman]

Typical posters.

 

Boldin was a great move until he retires...now he's a bum that didn't matter anyway.

 

You're only kidding yourselves

Anyone who thought the Boldin signing was a great move didn't dig very deep into his stats the last few seasons. Minus a few flukey TDs last season, he's been on severe decline averaging the 2nd lowest YPC for WR in the league. That's all WR. NOT GOOD

[dpberr]

I don't put AB's retirement on the front office. I think all players are both the steam hammer and John Henry in their careers. It's knowing when you're which.

 

However, I think the front office made it easier on him when they traded for *another* slot receiver who happened to be younger, faster and in his prime.

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

 

So I have now checked. The Bills are 29th in total WR $$s spend in 2017 the Panthers have a little more committed ($13.3m) and are 26th. If you want to know where the Panthers typically have money tied up it is obviously Quarterback where Cam has a cap hit over $20m (on a deal signed 2 years ago that is firmly in that middle rung of NFL QBs now) and Derek Anderson is one of the better, and better paid, backups. They also have big money tied up on their defensive line. Two very well paid DTs (sound familiar?) and decent money on edge guys too. They pay their center well, they carry pretty big running back cap hits (mainly cos of Stewart), have a well paid tight end and the highest cap hit for a kicker in the league. Already that sounds not dissimilar to the Bills cash breakdown. However, where they do have a significantly different profile to the Bills cap position is at linebacker. Do Beane and McDermott believe in paying a MLB big money or is Kuechly just that good that he is a special case? The Bills instead have a franchise LT tied up and are paying a veteran guard (Carolina's got two good young guards still on rookie deals but they don't have a recent history of paying big on the line beyond their center - after Jordan Gross retired they have mainly sifted through other people's FA trash for a starting LT - Michael Oher and now Matt Kalil).

 

So I think there you have it.... expect money to go on the front 7 on defense and on what they see as "leadership positions" more generally.

Interesting breakdown. Thanks for sharing. Worth noting that they did spend a first rounder of K Benjamin and were spending a bunch of dollars on Steve smith before they moved on. Not sure where beane was during all of that. Edited August 21, 2017 by Over 29 years of fanhood

[Andrew Son]

@jayskurski

 

 

.@AnquanBoldin dedicated life to football & never thought anything would take place of that passion, but now something has (Charlottesville)

It is an apt reason for his retirement.

 

Confederate statues are currently moving faster than Boldin.

[BillsFan4]

@jayskurski

Anquan Boldin says the recent events in Charlottesville made him realize he was ready to pursue a higher calling than football. #Bills

.@AnquanBoldin dedicated life to football & never thought anything would take place of that passion, but now something has (Charlottesville)

Listening to him right now on Sirius... he said he definitely didn't come to Buffalo just to play with Sammy Watkins. He thinks the pieces are in place to compete offensively. He thinks Tyrod is a fine QB and will be great. He said people who think he would make a decision like this based on the offensive production in a preseason game is absurd and from people who don't understand the game.

He's uncomfortable with how divided we are as a country. He knows not everyone will understand or have the same passion as him. He's been working on humanitarian work for years. He wants to be a voice for those who don't have a voice.

He said that he feels he can still play. His advocacy for humanitarian work currently outweighs his passion for football. He doesn't foresee a return to the game.He feels his time has come. There is something else he feels called to do. He said the Bills were disappointed as he expected but they respected his decision and wished him the best and he appreciated that.

He felt a certain obligation to the team so it was not easy to walk away. He didn't want to let his teammates down. He knew there were guys looking forward to playing with him. so far only rodak has taken that angle. Others seem to respect that's he's being sincere (jw). He's one of the most respected players and people in the league, not sure why rodak assumes he's lying. Or he just wants clicks.

 

Thanks for sharing all this Yolo. So it sounds like he was legitimately telling the truth about why he retired. No reason to assume otherwise right now.

 

There is an awful lot of stuff going on in this country right now. If he thinks he can help make a difference, I applaud him for trying to do so.

[YoloinOhio]

It is an apt reason for his retirement.

 

Confederate statues are currently moving faster than Boldin.

ha. I greatly admire him for what he's doing. I feel as if it is being overlooked. I never talk about politics here or anywhere else. But off the field, his decision is just highly respected by me. On the field, based on how he looked, I don't think it really impacts the offensive production. Edited August 21, 2017 by YoloinOhio

[BillsFan4]

Man, I miss Whaley.

 

Percy Harvin retired on Whaley.

 

They signed a guy with a history of not being able to stay on the field to big money ($6M+) and he missed most of the season, retired at season's end after collecting that Bills money and eating up cap. Then the Bills signed him out of retirement for him to get migraines and retire again, once again waiting until the season was over and collecting his money from the Bills.

 

At least Boldin retired before the season instead of stealing money from the Bills and eating up cap all season like Percy... lol

 

I can't really blame either GM for trying to bolster their WT depth though.

[PromoTheRobot]

ha. I greatly admire him for what he's doing. I feel as if it is being overlooked. I never talk about politics here or anywhere else. But off the field, his decision is just highly respected by me. On the field, based on how he looked, I don't think it really impacts the offensive production.

 

He might feel that way but I'm not buying it as the sole reason he retired. (Was the country a racial utopia 13 days ago?) I think it's a combo of everything brought up here. The trades and his play against the Eagles. Maybe the Bills went to him and told him he looked bad? Charlottesville is just an excuse.

[26CornerBlitz]

@TBNSports

The #Bills were counting on Boldin to make a major contribution, on and off the field, @viccarucci says

http://buffalonews.com/2017/08/21/vic-caruccis-3-thoughts-boldins-retirement-punch-gut-isnt-totally-explained-desire-focus-humaniterian-efforts/

 

Here are my three thoughts on Anquan Boldin's sudden decision to retire after his blink-of-an-eye stay with the Buffalo Bills:

 

1. No matter how you slice it, this is a massive punch to the gut.

2. Which leads to this point: I respect, as the Bills do, Boldin's noble explanation for his shocking decision.

3. There is simply no denying Boldin's retirement is a bad look for McDermott and General Manager Brandon Beane.

 

But …

 

It's hard for me to accept Boldin suddenly realizing only days after his first preseason game with his new team that he could be doing something far important with his life than running patterns and catching passes. It's hard for me to accept his abrupt change of heart wasn't impacted by a couple of abrupt moves the Bills made after Boldin's arrival. One, of course, was the trade that sent Watkins to the Los Angeles Rams, while the other was the trade that sent cornerback Ronald Darby to the Philadelphia Eagles.

 

All of a sudden, the Bills weren't the team Boldin thought he was joining, the team he said during his introductory news conference at training camp he was looking to help win a championship, the team that he said gave him a whole lot of encouragement based on all that he had seen during his visit to Orchard Park a couple of weeks earlier. He anticipated being a nice underneath complement to Watkins' defensive-stretching skills. Now, he was working outside, hardly his strength, and the rest of the remaining wideouts were, like him, slot guys.

 

This is exactly where I land.

[YoloinOhio]

 

He might feel that way but I'm not buying it as the sole reason he retired. (Was the country a racial utopia 13 days ago?) I think it's a combo of everything brought up here. The trades and his play against the Eagles. Maybe the Bills went to him and told him he looked bad? Charlottesville is just an excuse.

Of course - I agree it is a piece of it ...and his decline is another. I admire him walking away now vs. Andre Johnson hanging on until he literally could not move. Edited August 21, 2017 by YoloinOhio

[JohnBonhamRocks]

Have loved Boldin as one of my favorite non-Bills because of how he plays the game. Really would have been tempted to buy his Bills jersey had he played.

 

But cannot respect any reason more than what he gave, especially given current times.

[oldmanfan]

They will miss his locker room presence. And the last I checked GMs and HCs do not have fortune telling abilities.

[Jamie Nails]

If Boldin gets into the Hall of Fame, he should go in as a Bill.

Like Matt Leinert, Reggie Bush and VInce Young

[RyanC883]

Whoever suggested Dorsett may be onto something. Deal a late round pick and get some speed.

 

love this idea. Also, anyone know of WR's likely to be cut by other teams that may be worth picking up?

 

He might feel that way but I'm not buying it as the sole reason he retired. (Was the country a racial utopia 13 days ago?) I think it's a combo of everything brought up here. The trades and his play against the Eagles. Maybe the Bills went to him and told him he looked bad? Charlottesville is just an excuse.

 

totally agree. He is using "community involvement"--which he never specifies, as an excuse. I think his play was declining and he didn't want to go through another season.