The San Francisco 49ers surprised many people releasing veteran wide receiver Jeremy Kerley in order to keep both Kendrick Bourne and Victor Bolden Jr. The rookie receiver from Oregon State gained quite a bit of attention with two kickoff returns for touchdowns in the preseason. Head coach Kyle Shanahan repeated is emphasis on special teams contributions by bubble players to make the 53 man roster. Bolden took advantage of his opportunities to make his presence on the roster a necessity.
He is SO fast!@vbolden6era goes 92 yards TO THE HOUSE! #LACvsSF pic.twitter.com/zWo6Ha0tZs
— NFL (@NFL) September 1, 2017
There has been no confirmation if Bolden or fellow rookie receiver Trent Taylor will take over return duties after the departure of Kerley but Bolden will happily do whatever is asked of him. He has been living by the philosophy of his head coach who says no day is more important than the next. His goal in training camp was to put the best he could on tape, practicing to his potential.
Pierre Garçon is one of the veterans that Bolden tries to emulate, the way he “goes about his business and comes into work everyday.” Consistency is what Bolden is striving for, proving his value everyday as well as improving his fundamentals. He worked primarily with both Matt Barkley and C.J. Beathard throughout training camp building chemistry with each QB as well as a lot of time in special team run/walk throughs.
Bolden shared that his nerves were a little strained prior to the roster cutdown but that he couldn’t stress too much about things that weren’t under his control. Sunday facing the Panthers in his first NFL regular season game will bring it’s own new type of nerves, his debut in the big show. He can’t wait for the chance to take advantage of the bigger and brighter spotlight.