Sports Radio Interviews

Anquan Boldin: Leaving Arizona is “Definitely Bitter-Sweet”

A poster-child for all that is wrong with the NFL Scouting Combine – a 4.71 40-time pushed him into the second round of the draft, costing him millions – and all that is right with the league with his gritty play on the field, Anquan Boldin is finally cashing in on some of that first-round caliber money that he lacked in the first seven years of his career, in which he went to three Pro Bowls, won Offensive Rookie of the Year and played in a Super Bowl.

Boldin has been traded (with a fifth round pick) by Arizona to the Baltimore Ravens for a third and a fourth-round draft choice. He has also signed a four-year deal worth $28 million to be the team’s top wide receiver.

As a send-off from the town where he had played his entire NFL career, Anquan Boldin joined Bickley and MJ on XTRA 910 in Phoenix one last time to discuss leaving Arizona, his contract situation, playing at Sun Devil Stadium, and the future of the Cardinals.

On whether leaving is bitter-sweet:

“Definitely. Arizona is the only place that I have been professionally. I’ve been there seven years. I consider that home. My family has been there and settled for seven years. I have built a lot relationships there on on and off the field. I have a great relationship with the community, so it’s definitely bitter sweet.

On having the contract situation behind him:

“As a football player or any athlete, the only thing you want is security and that is what I was seeking in Arizona. When I got there, I only saw myself playing for one team. I didn’t want to be a guy who bounced around from city-to-city. I wanted to get involved with one organization and retire there. But, there is a business side to it. At some point you need to look out for the best interests of yourself and your family. There is a business side of it and unfortunately it came to that.”

On whether he thought he would ever receive a fair offer from Arizona:

“No. That wasn’t going to happen. I don’t want to go too much into what they offered me, but I just didn’t think it was fair market value and my agent didn’t either. All that being said, I have to say that I definitely enjoyed my time in Arizona – especially with the fans. They embraced me from the beginning. They accepted me with open arms and every Sunday I went out to play my heart out for them because they made it worth it.”

On the future of the Cardinals:

“There are still some great guys in the locker room, but I have to be honest…Everybody that left was a leader. You think about defense with Karlos Dansby or Antrel Rolle or Bertrand Berry, who was also great guy in the locker room.  And then on offense with myself and Kurt. There are definitely some guys in the locker room who had a good grasp on the team that won’t be there next year.”

On his favorite memory as a Cardinal:

“That’s easy. Getting to the Super Bowl. To go from playing at Sun Devil Stadium my rookie year to hosting an NFC Championship game and winning it is at the top.”

And on what he was thinking in his first game at Sun Devil Stadium:

“I was thinking that everybody was late. Coming from Florida State, we got 90,000 every Saturday. With 25,000 there, I was thinking, ‘Where is everybody? Maybe they ran into traffic or something.’”

Listen to Anquan Boldin with Bickley and MJ on XTRA 910 in Phoenix.

Tags: AFC North, Anquan Boldin, Arizona Cardinals, Baltimore Ravens, Kurt Warner, NFL free agency, Ray Lewis, XTRA 910