The familiarity between the New England Patriots and Las Vegas Raiders goes well beyond head coaches Bill Belichick and Josh McDaniels.
McDaniels brought a handful of Patriots with him to Las Vegas upon agreeing to become the head coach of the Raiders this offseason. Brandon Bolden just so happens to be one of the many getting comfortable in Las Vegas after extensive time in New England, joining the likes of safety Duron Harmon, backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham, among others.
And Bolden, who previously spent eight of his nine seasons with Belichick and company, was thrilled to see some familiar faces with the two teams competing in joint practices at the organization’s well-respected practice facility.
“It was great. Great seeing those guys,” Bolden said Tuesday after the first of two joint sessions, per the team. “I mean, I’ve stayed in touch with a lot of them anyway, but it was great to see them in person.”
Bolden, while being asked about the recently-retired James White, even shared how he still has a group chat with former Patriots running backs LeGarrette Blount, Dion Lewis and White.
“I was telling the younger guys, a lot of those guys I saw come into the league and that was years ago,” Bolden said. “We practically grew up together. So for a lot of those guys it wasn’t just former teammates, it was like family to me.”
Bolden also hinted at the “family” storyline later while talking about his new coach. The veteran special teamer joked how McDaniels taking over at the helm was like when the older brother “babysits” and called the experience “surreal.”
The Patriots wrapped up their two joint practices Wednesday but now get ready to face the Raiders in their third and final preseason game Friday. Kickoff from Allegiant Stadium is set for 8:15 p.m. ET and NESN.com will continue to have on-site coverage from Las Vegas throughout the week.
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