Brandon Bolden

Brandon Bolden (born January 26, 1990) is an American football running back and special teamer for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the University of Mississippi.[1] He was signed by the Patriots as an undrafted free agent in 2012.

Brandon Bolden
Bolden with the New England Patriots in 2016
No. 38 – New England Patriots
Position:
Personal information
Born: (1990-01-26) January 26, 1990
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Height:5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight:220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
High school:Scotlandville Magnet
College:Ole Miss
Undrafted:2012
Career history
Roster status:Opt-out
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of Week 16, 2019
Rushing yards:1,071
Rushing average:4.5
Receptions:59
Receiving yards:497
Return yards:477
Total touchdowns:15
Total tackles:40
Player stats at NFL.com

Early life

Bolden attended Scotlandville Magnet High School in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.[2] As a senior, Bolden rushed for 886 yards and 12 touchdowns en route to being named First Team All-District 5-5A. He also caught 12 passes for 256 yards. SuperPrep named him SuperPrep All-Region and ranked him the No. 34 best player in Louisiana. Bolden was named the No. 93 best running back in the nation by Scout.com. He was heavily recruited by Les Miles and LSU, but ultimately decided to play for Houston Nutt at Ole Miss.[1]

College career

Although fellow running back Enrique Davis was more regarded as a recruit, by his sophomore year, Bolden had gained the starting role for the Rebels. In the 2009 season, he finished with 129 carries for 614 yards and four touchdowns.[3] In the 2010 season, Bolden averaged nearly six yards a carry.[4] Against BYU in the first game of the 2011 season, Bolden suffered a broken ankle. Although the fracture was a minor one and he only missed a few games, he never returned to his previous form. He finished the 2011 season with 96 carries for 472 yards and four touchdowns.[5] He was not selected in the 2012 NFL Draft, although some sites predicted he might be drafted in one of the later rounds.[6] Although Bleacher Report reported on April 30, 2012, that he had agreed to a free agent contract with the Washington Redskins, Bolden later tweeted that the report was false. On May 2, 2012, a New York Times blog reported that he had signed a free agent deal with the New England Patriots.

Collegiate statistics
Brandon Bolden Rushing Receiving
Year School Conf Class Pos G Att Yds Avg TD Rec Yds Avg TD
2008 Ole Miss SEC FR RB 13 98 542 5.5 5 10 107 10.7 1
2009 Ole Miss SEC SO RB 13 129 614 4.8 4 20 209 10.5 1
2010 Ole Miss SEC JR RB 12 163 976 6.0 14 32 344 10.8 3
2011 Ole Miss SEC SR RB 10 96 462 4.8 4 14 147 10.5 1
Career Ole Miss 48 486 2,594 5.3 27 76 807 10.6 6

Professional career
Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand size 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
5 ft 10 7⁄8 in
(1.80 m)		 222 lb
(101 kg)		 32 1⁄4 in
(0.82 m)		 10 in
(0.25 m)		 4.66 s 4.44 s 6.96 s 38.0 in
(0.97 m)		 9 ft 11 in
(3.02 m)		 21 reps
All values from NFL Combine[7]

New England Patriots (2012–2017)

During the 2012 preseason, Bolden had 36 carries for 128 yards and caught four passes, but fumbled the ball twice, losing one. Nevertheless, at the end of training camp, the New England Patriots elected to keep Bolden on their 53-man roster, rather than try to place him on their practice squad. He scored his first touchdown in the Patriots' Week 3 loss to the Baltimore Ravens;[8] in Week 4, he led the Patriots with 137 yards on 16 carries—an average of 8.6 yards per carry. He scored one touchdown and added an 11-yard reception.[9] He and Stevan Ridley, who had 106 yards on 22 carries with two touchdowns, became the first Patriots running backs to accrue 100 rushing yards in the same game since 1982. Moreover, Wes Welker and Rob Gronkowski had 100-yard games that day as well, making the four only the second such quartet of two 100-yard rushers and two 100-yard receivers in a single game for the same team. For his efforts, Bolden was named the NFL's FedEx Ground Player of the Week for Week 4.[10] On November 9, 2012, Bolden was suspended four games for violating the NFL's policy on performance-enhancing substances.[11] Overall, he finished the 2012 season with 56 carries for 274 yards and two touchdowns.[12] Bolden was active for 12 of the Patriots' games during the 2013 season and finished the year with 271 rushing yards, 3 rushing touchdowns and 4.9 yards per carry; he also had 152 receiving yards.[13][14]

Bolden was a part of the Patriots Super Bowl XLIX championship team when they defeated the Seattle Seahawks, 28–24, and played in all 19 of the Patriots regular-season and postseason games.[15][16] On January 9, 2015, Bolden was signed to a two-year extension by the Patriots.[17] On November 9, 2015, Bolden caught his first touchdown pass, an 18-yarder from Tom Brady, against the Washington Redskins.[18] On November 29, Bolden caught his second touchdown pass on a 63-yard catch-and-run in a loss to the Denver Broncos.[19] In the 2016 season, Bolden went back to a reserve role on offense and played mostly on special teams. On February 5, 2017, Bolden was part of the Patriots team that won Super Bowl LI. In the game, he played only on special teams as the Patriots defeated the Atlanta Falcons by a score of 34–28 in overtime.[20] The Patriots trailed 28–3 in the third quarter, but rallied to win the game, 34–28, in the first overtime game in Super Bowl history and the largest comeback in Super Bowl history.[21][22]

On April 5, 2017, Bolden re-signed with the Patriots.[23] On September 2, 2017, he was released by the Patriots, but was re-signed two days later.[24][25] As in 2016, he saw little action as a running back. In the first half of 2017, he saw no carries from the backfield, but served extensively on special teams, serving as a gunner opposite Matthew Slater. Bolden recorded six special teams tackles through Week 9 of 2017.[26]

On February 24, 2018, Bolden signed a one-year contract extension with the Patriots through the 2018 season.[27][28] On September 1, Bolden was released by the Patriots.[29]

Miami Dolphins (2018)

On September 4, 2018, Bolden signed with the Miami Dolphins.[30] He recorded 91 rushing yards, two rushing touchdowns, and a receiving touchdown on the 2018 season.[31]

New England Patriots (second stint)

On March 13, 2019, Bolden signed a two-year contract with the New England Patriots.[32] Overall, in the 2019 season, Bolden recorded 15 carries for 68 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns to go along with nine receptions for 111 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown.[33]

On July 28, 2020, Bolden announced his decision to opt out of the 2020 season, due to concerns over the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.[34]

Personal life

Bolden is married to Arianna King, who gave birth to the couple's first child on May 2, 2011.

Bolden's grandfather, Frank Pitts, was a wide receiver who played for the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl I and Super Bowl IV.[35][36]

Career statistics
Legend
Team won the Super Bowl
SeasonTeamGamesRushingReceiving FumblesTackles
GPGSAttYdsAvgLngTDRecYdsAvgLngTDFUMLostCombSoloAst
2012NE 100562744.92722115.5110––550
2013NE 122552714.9463211527.2180––101
2014NE 16228893.2171284.040––642
2015NE 152632073.3140191809.563T2––321
2016NE 140144.0402157.5130––440
2017NE 16013675.2200177.070––871
2018MIA 16089111.45423134.39111642
2019NE 15215684.5213911112.3291-–871
Total 11482391,0714.55411594978.46341141338
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References
  1. "#34 Brandon Bolden Biography". olemisssports.com. Archived from the original on December 29, 2010. Retrieved October 21, 2010.
  2. Underhill, Nick. "Patriots' Brandon Bolden following in footsteps of grandfather, former Chiefs player Frank Pitts". The Advocate. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  3. "Brandon Bolden 2009 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  4. "Brandon Bolden 2010 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  5. "Brandon Bolden 2011 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  6. "Brandon Bolden | Mississippi, RB : 2012 NFL Draft Scout Player Profile". NfldraftScout.com. September 21, 2006. Archived from the original on April 25, 2016. Retrieved September 18, 2016.
  7. "Brandon Bolden Combine Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved October 13, 2019.
  8. "New England Patriots at Baltimore Ravens - September 23rd, 2012". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  9. "New England Patriots at Buffalo Bills - September 30th, 2012". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  10. "FedEx Players Air and Ground". NFL.com. July 21, 2015. Retrieved September 18, 2016.
  11. "Patriots rookie RB Bolden suspended four games". Yahoo! Sports. November 9, 2012. Archived from the original on November 10, 2012. Retrieved November 9, 2012.
  12. "Brandon Bolden 2012 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  13. "Brandon Bolden Stats - New England Patriots". ESPN.go.com. January 26, 1990. Retrieved September 18, 2016.
  14. "Brandon Bolden 2013 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  15. "Super Bowl XLIX - Seattle Seahawks vs. New England Patriots - February 1st, 2015". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  16. "Brandon Bolden 2014 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  17. Yates, Field (January 9, 2015). "Patriots sign Brandon Bolden to extension". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 9, 2015.
  18. "Washington Redskins at New England Patriots - November 8th, 2015". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  19. "New England Patriots at Denver Broncos - November 29th, 2015". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  20. "Super Bowl LI - New England Patriots vs. Atlanta Falcons - February 5th, 2017". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
  21. Hill, Rich (January 1, 2017). "Which Pats could be playing their last regular season game for New England?". PatsPulpit.com. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
  22. Wesseling, Chris (February 5, 2017). "New England Patriots win Super Bowl LI". NFL.com. NFL. Retrieved February 5, 2017.
  23. "Patriots re-sign RB Brandon Bolden". Patriots.com. April 5, 2017. Archived from the original on April 6, 2017. Retrieved April 5, 2017.
  24. "Patriots reach 53-man limit". Patriots.com. September 2, 2017. Archived from the original on November 28, 2017.
  25. "Patriots Re-Sign RB Brandon Bolden; Place LB Shea McClellin on Injured Reserve; Make Changes to the Practice Squad". Patriots.com. September 4, 2017. Archived from the original on September 5, 2017. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  26. "Brandon Bolden 2017 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  27. Bergman, Jeremy (February 24, 2018). "Patriots bring back RB Brandon Bolden for 2018". NFL.com.
  28. Reiss, Mike (February 24, 2018). "Patriots retain core special teamer Brandon Bolden on one-year deal". ESPN.com.
  29. "Patriots Announce Roster Cutdown". Patriots.com. September 1, 2018.
  30. "Dolphins Make Roster Moves". MiamiDolphins.com. September 4, 2018.
  31. "Brandon Bolden 2018 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  32. Chiari, Mike. "Patriots Rumors: Brandon Bolden Agrees to 2-Year Contract to Return to NE". Bleacher Report. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
  33. "Brandon Bolden 2019 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
  34. "Patriots re-sign wide receiver Will Hastings". Patriots.com. July 28, 2020. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  35. Reiss, Mike (September 22, 2012). "Football journey: Brandon Bolden". Patriots Blog. ESPN Boston. Retrieved September 22, 2012.
  36. Blog, KC Chiefs. "Around The Web: Replacing TG, Krumrie Runs, Chiefs Bloodlines In SEC". Archived from the original on January 27, 2013. Retrieved September 22, 2012.
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