SAN FRANCISCO – When Anquan Boldin's jaw was shattered on an end zone hit in the waning moments of a lopsided loss in New York in 2008, teammate Larry Fitzgerald was one of the first to rush to the unconscious Boldin's side.
"I'll never forget seeing him strapped to that gurney and in the X-ray room and I was crying profusely," Fitzgerald recalled. "There was blood coming out of his nose and his mouth, and I get to him, and he looks at me and says, 'Why are you crying?'"
As Fitzgerald tells the story, he imitates Boldin's speech that day, muddled as it was because of the broken jaw.
Fitzgerald told Boldin he hated seeing him like that. Boldin's response? "I'm gonna be alright."
Owner Bill Bidwill and eventual owner Michael Bidwill stayed the night in New York, making sure Boldin was OK and waiting to fly Boldin back on the plane Michael Bidwill piloted. A couple of weeks later, Boldin was back, playing against the Panthers, running a whip route when he grabbed a pass, running through a pair of defenders for a touchdown.
"Most guys would've taken it as, 'I'm done this year, I'll get ready for next year,' but that wasn't his mentality," Fitzgerald said. "The same mentality he had as a player is the same way he attacks life."
Boldin is in a different place now than when he departed the Cardinals with a trade to the Ravens in 2010. He had been upset with the team as far back as 2008 training camp because of his contract, yet played – at a high level – for the team's two most successful Arizona seasons afterward, including a Super Bowl run.
But these days, the relationship between Boldin and the Cardinals is much better, underscored by last week’s award given to the team and Michael Bidwill from Boldin’s Sport For Impact organization. That followed Boldin's visit to a Cardinals home game this past season, during which he sat with Bidwill.
Boldin has also spent considerable time talking to Bidwill with both a part of the NFL's Social Justice Committee.
"I think (the relationship) is in a great place right now," Boldin said following the Sport For Impact luncheon. "There are no hard feelings from me, nothing like that. Mike and I talk often.
"One of the things that helped me was playing in other organizations, seeing how they operate, and sitting down with (former GM) Rod Graves a couple years after everything went down, (that) gave me some closure to how things turned out. Also for me, you grow older, you mature, you gain a different view point of how things happen and what you could have done differently as well."
Boldin was spectacular when he was drafted in the second round in 2003, setting an NFL rookie record with his 217 yards (on 10 catches) in his very first game. In his 14-year career, five of his seven 1,000-yard seasons came wearing a Cardinals uniform and six of his eight seasons of at least 70 receptions.
He said he was "elated" that his former teammate Fitzgerald made it into the Hall of Fame, but as far as his own Canton possibility – his name has come up often, despite a plethora of candidates of late – Boldin insists he doesn't think about it.
"I played the game for 14 years and whatever I did on the field I did on the field," Boldin said. "For me, my life is so much more than football at this point. I have a bigger purpose. I don't think about it until people bring it up. I'm just trying to make an impact on people the best I can."
That's through the Players Coalition and now Sports For Impact. The former was born in 2017 during the racial strife of that summer, which hit personally when his cousin was killed by a law enforcement officer. The latter was created to help NFL players – most of them once their playing days platform is gone after retirement – extend their legacy helping the community.
"There is tremendous work that needs to be done," Boldin said. "That's why we as players are going to continue to fight.
"I felt I had to step up and use my platform as much as I could. We're still at a place in our country that we are not happy, with what is happening with immigration at this point and time. However I can use my voice and make a difference, I am going to continue to do it. I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving my kids in this country with where we are right now. We tout ourselves as the greatest country in the world, but there is a lot that needs to be done to make sure we are better."
Fitzgerald called Boldin the toughest football player he had ever played with or against. That has carried over to his post-playing days.
"It's the same way he fights for people who can't fight for themselves," Fitzgerald said. "He's a voice for change and he's always stood on the right side of things. I'm really happy to hear he's gotten close with the team again. He deserves it."
As Fitzgerald, Boldin, Bidwill and Hall of Fame tackle Anthony Munoz stood taking post-luncheon photos, there was no hint of the issues that once came between Boldin and the team that drafted him. The four broke into laughter after Boldin gave Fitzgerald grief about working out in retirement.
Boldin always was a voice of grind in Fitzgerald's ear when the two played together. No reason to stop now.
"Our greatest times in team history, he was on those teams," Fitzgerald said. "You can't talk about the story of the Arizona Cardinals without talking about Anquan Boldin."
