Isaiah Bolden Released from Hospital After Injury; Patriots, Packers Ended Game Early

The New England Patriots and Green Bay Packers decided to end their preseason game early on Saturday at Lambeau Field after New England rookie cornerback Isaiah Bolden was carted off the field on a stretcher, per NFL.com's Nick Shook.

Bolden appeared to suffer a head injury when he collided with teammate Calvin Munson on a third-down completion to Packers receiver Malik Heath with 10:29 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Medical personnel rushed to attend to Bolden as he lay motionless on the ground. He was surrounded by teammates as he was carted off the field and transported to the hospital. "He had feeling in all his extremities, but has been taken to a local hospital for further tests and observation," the Patriots said in a statement, per Nicole Yang of the Boston Globe.

The Patriots announced Sunday morning that Bolden was released from the hospital and will travel with the team back to Foxborough. Bolden also posted his appreciation on social media:

The Patriots were leading 21-17 before the remainder of the game was called off.

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick told reporters after the game: "We're all saying a prayer for Isaiah (Bolden). … We appreciated the way the league handled it. We think that was the right thing to do."

Patriots' Matthew Slater credited Belichick for the decision, per Zack Cox of NESN.com:

"I really appreciate what Coach Belichick did. He took the initiative on that. Look, this is not the AFC Championship. We're not playing for records. It's preseason Game 2. When you have an injury like that, it affects a lot of guys in a lot of different ways. Clearly, our team was shaken by what happened, and I think Coach made the right decision."

"I think that was tremendous leadership by him. I have to say honestly, that was one of the proudest moments I've had as a guy who's played for him for now 16 years, to see what he did. There was no hesitation. And I appreciate Coach LaFleur, as well, for standing with him. I think everybody acted swiftly, and it was the right call in this situation."

Packers head coach Matt LaFleur also spoke about the decision to end the game early, per Matt Schneidman of The Athletic.

"Obviously a very scary ending to the game right there. 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 it was in the best interests for both teams. Coach Belichick and I talked on the field to take the action that we took. There's a lot of good work that we've had over the last couple days, but it's hard to think about much of that. Just hope that young man's going to be OK."

Bolden was the second NFL player on Saturday to be stretchered off the field during preseason action.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback John Wolford suffered a neck injury on a sack against the New York Jets and was carted off the field and transported to the hospital.

The Patriots selected Bolden in the seventh round of the 2023 draft out of Jackson State. He began his college career at Florida State before transferring.

New England will end the preseason Friday before opening the regular season against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sept. 10.