Late Sunday night, Anquan Boldin informed the Buffalo Bills and the NFL that he would be retiring after 14 seasons.
What the Buffalo Bills are left with is a depleted receiving corps lacking veteran leadership. The Bills’ top four receivers are all under the age of 30 with top receiving option, Zay Jones at age 22. Anquan Boldin may not have had a ton left in his tank, but it is safe to say that Bills’ fans did not have kind things to say about Boldin’s departure. At the time, it looked like he saw the direction that the team was heading and got out, but there may be more to it than that.
Here are some of the tweets and facebook replies that Bills’ fans have let lose in the past 16 hours:
Anquan Boldin, thanks for stopping by. Let's not even pretend here - he knows the #Bills have no chance to make playoffs. Wasn't worth it
— Sal Maiorana (@salmaiorana) August 21, 2017
@jimrome I don't blame Anquan Boldin for retiring. Pretty sure Tyrod Taylor or Elaine's old boss on Seinfeld will suck as the Bills QB.
— Francis in Glendale (@TFPWillEat) August 21, 2017
Ted McArthur 8-21-2017
"“Do you think, after evaluating him in practice and preseason play, Mac and crew thought he probably wouldn’t make the final 53? And gave him the opportunity to retire rather than get cut? Just a thought”"
Scott Weems 8-21-2017
"“good for him. He realized he had nothing left in the tank to give and walked away gracefully. Others should do the same instead of taking owners money that could be spent on.more deserving players that actually have some abilities left.”"
Steve Goulart 8-21-2017
"” I don’t blame him! He obviously wasn’t informed on their plans to trade Sammy or he would never have signed in the first place"
The Bills front office has to be disappointed with this news. Boldin in top form alongside second-round pick, Zay Jones, and young Jordan Matthews is a solid group of receivers. Take the veteran Anquan Boldin out of the mix and you’re left with Rod Streater rounding out your wide receiver corps. This retirement comes just 13 days after Anquan Boldin told Sean McDermott he is all in with the Buffalo Bills. It is easy to tell that McDermott is frustrated by this news, but he has no other option but to move on quickly and be understanding.
The NFL is a business and players get cut every day. Sometimes the players flip that around on teams and do things that are unexpected of them. There is no rule against a player retiring at this point in the season, so the team cannot do anything but wish Anquan Boldin the best.
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Are you at peace with the Anquan Boldin news? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!