Bill Belichick Explains ‘Hard Decision’ To Cancel Patriots Joint Practices
'Obviously, the seriousness of the injury was part of it'
The Patriots called off their second round of joint practices in the wake of Isaiah Bolden’s frightening head injury.
New England was scheduled to fly straight to Nashville after Saturday night’s preseason game in Green Bay to prepare for two days of practice with the Tennessee Titans. Instead, after Bolden was carted off the field and the game was suspended, the Patriots opted to return home.
The Patriots now will practice at their team facility in Foxboro, Mass., on Tuesday and Wednesday, then travel to Tennessee ahead of Friday night’s preseason finale at Nissan Stadium.
Head coach Bill Belichick explained that change of plans Monday morning.
“I just felt like after the (Green Bay) game, we had a little bit of time there in the locker room to just look at the situation and made the decision that the best thing for the team would be to come back here and not go to Tennessee,” Belichick said in a video conference.
“It was a hard decision. As much as we’d like to work against them, we just tried to balance the situation. There were a number of things involved. So we came back (Sunday).”
Belichick added additional context during an interview with WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show,” saying he conferred with Patriots ownership before making the decision to cancel the practices.
“I just felt like for a number of reasons, it’s the best thing to do for the team,” he said. “I talked to Robert and Jonathan (Kraft) about it, and we all collectively felt that was the best thing to do. There’s a number of factors involved, but obviously, the seriousness of the injury was part of it.”
The Patriots’ statement announcing the cancellation said it was “(d)ue to the circumstances surrounding the abrupt and unexpected ending to (Saturday) night’s game.” New England participated in two joint practices last week, one of which featured more than a half-dozen fights between players.
Belichick said the Patriots still were in the process of reworking their practice plan for the week.
“We’ll take (Monday) to figure out what the priorities are,” the coach said. “But we want to address the priorities, so that’s what it’ll be.”
Bolden, who spent Saturday night at Aurora Bay Medical Center in Green Bay, was released from the hostpial Sunday morning and flew home with the team. Belichick said the seventh-round draft pick out of Jackson State “certainly seems a lot better.”
The Patriots must cut their roster from 90 players to 53 by next Tuesday.
