Buffalo Bills wide receiver Anquan Boldin reportedly left the team on Sunday and informed them that he was retiring. Boldin's tenure as a Bill didn't last long as he signed with the team less than two weeks ago. His decision leaves the Bills with alarmingly few offensive weapons that are headlined by the injured Jordan Matthews, rookie Zay Jones, and tight end Charles Clay. While Boldin's decision should increase the volume that each of those pass catchers sees, the outlook for the team offense and Tyrod Taylor are bleaker than ever. In the past two weeks, the team has traded away Sammy Watkins, had recently acquired Jordan Matthews go down due to injury in his first practice, and had Anquan Boldin retire. That leaves their passing game in dire straights, though young and under the radar names such as Zay Jones and Andre Holmes will now the chance to carve out a role in Buffalo.
Buffalo Bills wide receiver Anquan Boldin has emerged as the favorite target of Tyrod Taylor, as he was the most targeted pass catcher each of the past two days at practice. This news isn't surprising given the other receivers currently on the field for the Bills as Jordan Matthews has missed each of those practices. Boldin's yards per catch have dropped every season since 2011, but he has maintained fantasy relevance thanks to his ability to haul in touchdowns. If he were to post another fantasy relevant season, it would almost certainly have to come on the back of more touchdown production as the Bills lack passing volume and Boldin is no longer a big play threat. We will have a chance to see Boldin in his first game action in a Bills uniform for the team's second preseason game on Thursday.
Buffalo Bills wide receiver Anquan Boldin was quarterback Tyrod Taylor's most-targeted receiver in practice for the second straight day Tuesday. Boldin saw five targets and caught all five and is beginning to look like the best pass-catching option after the team traded Sammy Watkins to the Rams last week. Newly-acquired receiver Jordan Matthews (chest) is out injured. Boldin will make his preseason debut with Buffalo on Thursday. It's not hard to be Buffalo's top receiving option with Watkins gone, Matthews injured and rookie Zay Jones trying to learn, but it's notable nonetheless. The veteran receiver would've been a fantasy afterthought in 2016 had he not been a red-zone beast in Detroit with eight touchdowns. There's room for growth in Buffalo due to the lack of options, but Boldin's upside remains rather limited as a touchdown-dependent WR4/5.
Free-agent wide receiver Anquan Boldin has had talks with "a number of teams" and said he has a visit with an unnamed team set for Sunday, according to Omar Kelly of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. The veteran pass catcher was a big red-zone presence for Detroit last year and had 67 catches for 584 yards and eight touchdowns. The 36-year-old could carve out a role with a new team, but he's mainly a touchdown-dependent fantasy guy at this point of his career and is highly unlikely to come close to matching his eight scores from 2016. Boldin is more of a long shot to return any kind of fantasy relevance.
Anquan Boldin
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Bills
