Isaiah Bolden of Jackson State football, Patriots released from hospital after scary injury

Isaiah Bolden, a rookie defensive back for the New England Patriots, was released from a Green Bay hospital Sunday morning after being carted off the field during an exhibition game against the Packers on Saturday night.

With 10:38 remaining in the fourth quarter, Bolden was covering a slant. After the completion, Packers receiver Malik Heath cut up field — leading Bolden into teammate Calvin Munson. Bolden immediately fell to the ground and was quickly treated by medical personnel. He was placed on a stretcher and taken off on a cart.

Coaches and officials agreed to end the game as Bolden was being treated on the field.

Bolden was taken to Aurora Bay Medical Center in Green Bay.

The Patriots said Sunday that Bolden underwent "a series of evaluations" and was held for overnight observations. Bolden was to travel with the team Sunday.

"We thank the medical staff at Aurora Bay Medical Center for their overnight evaluations, as well as the Patriots and Packers medical staffs for their immediate on-field response and care in transporting Isaiah to a nearby hospital," the Patriots added.

On social media, Bolden wrote "Appreciate the prayers more excited to be back with the guys."

The game was called with 10:29 left and the Patriots leading 21-17.

"Obviously, a very scary ending to the game right there," Packers coach Matt LaFleur said postgame. "Thoughts and prayers to Isaiah Bolden and his family. That's a scary situation — one that you never want to see in our game. I thought that it was in the best interest of both teams — (Patriots) coach (Bill) Belichick and I talked on the field — just to take the action that we took. There was a lot of good work that we've had over the last couple days, but it's hard to think about much of that. I just hope that young man is going to be OK."

Bolden is a native of Tampa, Florida, who attended Wesley Chapel High School. His collegiate career started at Florida State, where he spent two seasons before transferring to Jackson State.

Longtime Patriots special teams standout Matthew Slater said Bolden's injury is "a reminder of the fragility of life."

“It’s not something we spend a lot of time thinking about, but the reality is all of us will have to wrestle with that at some point in time, every person who’s ever walked the face of this Earth. I think it’s unfortunate that it happens in this context and this setting because this is meant to be a joyful, celebratory experience," Slater said.

“We’re playing a game. We’re doing what we love. We’re entertaining people. People are getting enjoyment out of our game. But it’s a reminder that things can turn on a dime," Slater added.

“It’s something you have to put out of your head as a player because you can’t go out there with fear and hesitation, but the reality is things happen in life and certainly things happen in football all the time.”

Playing under coach Deion Sanders, Bolden appeared in 26 games. He had 44 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, eight pass deflections and one fumble recovery with the Tigers.

The Patriots selected Bolden in the seventh round with the 245th overall pick. He was the lone product of an HBCU to be selected in the 2023 NFL Draft.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Isaiah Bolden released from hospital after injury in NFL exhibition game