FOXBORO, Mass. — With Shane Vereen and Leon Washington out on Sunday, Brandon Bolden had to take on a new role he hasn’t played since college: Wide receiver.
The 220-pound running back found himself split out wide on a few occasions against the Buccaneers. Bolden had lined up at receiver in training camp, but before then, his experience at the position was limited, to say the least.
“A few times in college,” Bolden said. “And when I saw ‘a few,’ I mean a few times in college.”
Bolden had to go back to his days as a kid, playing touch football with his friends to remember playing the position.
“I feel pretty comfortable doing it,” Bolden said. “I mean, every kid, when you’re out there playing touch football, you’re always lined up at receiver. ‘I’m the first receiver, I have wide.’ It’s kind of awesome to get out there and play with the team again. And put the game plan in effect.”
Bolden also leaned on his teammate, the regular third-down back, Vereen, for pointers. Bolden said Vereen has helped his transition into the third-down role, but he wouldn’t get into the specifics of what his partner in the running back stable told him to look out for.
“Of course. Of course I did,” Bolden said about talking to Vereen. “And he’s been a big help through all of that, through all of this entire transition pretty much. Shane’s been a big help even though he’s down right now.
“I can’t give you the playbook. I can just show you the cover. But I can’t show you the playbook. He told me what to look for. What not to look for. What to expect and what I’m probably never going to see a day in my life. So, it’s pretty simple.”
Bolden caught just two passes last season for the Patriots but had 76 in his four-year career at Ole Miss. Bolden had five catches for 49 yards on Sunday.
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