Report: Former Alabama WR Slade Bolden scheduled to work out for New England Patriots
Former Alabama wide receiver Slade Bolden is set to work out for the New England Patriots, ESPN’s Mike Reiss reported Tuesday. Bolden signed with the Baltimore Ravens last year, but didn’t play.
After he went undrafted in the 2022 NFL Draft, the Ravens signed Bolden as an undrafted free agent. However, he suffered a sports hernia and didn’t play a game for Baltimore. Reiss reported he’s now fully healthy after recovering.
Bolden played at Alabama from 2019-21, meaning he played with New England quarterback Mac Jones in 2019 and 2020. In 2021, he also played for new Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien, who was the Crimson Tide’s offensive coordinator en route to a national championship. That year was the best of Bolden’s career in Tuscaloosa as he totaled 408 yards and three touchdowns.
New England is coming off a rough season in 2022 with an 8-9 record as Jones was in and out of the lineup due to injury during his second season in the NFL. But the organization reportedly might still have a decision to make at quarterback, according to Sports Illustrated and MMQB’s Albert Breer.
Breer joined 98.5 The Sports Hub earlier this month and talked about the relationship between Jones and New England coach Bill Belichick this week. He pointed out some potential issues Belichick had with Jones and suggested the Patriots could hear offers for Jones, specifically from the Las Vegas Raiders if the interest is there. That would reunite Jones with Josh McDaniels, who was his offensive coordinator during his strong rookie season.
“I think they would,” Breer said of whether the Patriots would hear offers, via NBC Sports Boston’s Justin Leger. “Internally, I don’t know if they see this massive gap between Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe. I’m not saying they think Bailey’s as good as Mac, but there was some element of Bailey doing what he was coached to do last year that I think gave Bailey the edge to some degree for a little while there.
“So I think it’ll be interesting to see what would happen if a real offer came along. I don’t think a real offer is going to come along, but it’d be interesting to see what would happen if a real offer did come along.”