The 2023 season should be all about the New England Patriots and their coaching staff trying to help Mac Jones improve after a mightily subpar 2022. Many steps have already been taken along that path. Another way could be to make him more comfortable, be it through system, coaching or talent acquisition. And a free agent workout the team held on Tuesday could check off a couple of those boxes.
On the day the 2023 NFL Combine kicked off, the Patriots checked out a different kind of physical exhibition, working out former Alabama Crimson Tide receiver Slade Bolden. Bolden, an undrafted free agent in 2022 who chose to sign with the Baltimore Ravens but was released after he suffered a sports hernia in training camp, basically missed the entire 2022 campaign. In college Bolden was one of Mac Jones’ favorite targets (in a well-stocked pond of many) in a season that saw the Crimson Tide win a national championship. In their title victory over Ohio State, Bolden even caught his first career touchdown from, of all people, his college roommate.
Bolden’s collegiate stats will hardly wow anyone (he topped out with 408 receiving yards in 2021), and his pro opportunities are most likely due to his pedigree and alma mater. Primarily a slot receiver, he certainly would address a need on the Patriots given that they’ve never replaced Julian Edelman (whom Bolden said he models his game after). Plus, the team could be at risk of losing primary slot receiver Jakobi Meyers in free agency, a favorite target of Jones his first two seasons. While a Meyers-esque season would be beyond fantastic for Bolden should he make the club, just providing Jones with someone he’s thrown a lot of passes to and spent a lot of late nights with could go a long way in helping him feel more comfortable and find his groove again in 2023.
Bolden, 24, is a Louisiana native and also played quarterback in high school before transitioning to receiver. Not to say that’s a thing for the Patriots, but with Edelman, then Meyers, a skill set and resumé like his, not to mention a voucher from Jones, New England could represent Bolden’s best shot at getting back to the pros.
