Anquan Boldin is headed back to the NFC West. According to reports, the Baltimore Ravens are shipping Boldin to the San Francisco 49ers for a sixth-round draft pick.
Boldin was a key component in the Ravens' championship run, racking up 22 receptions for 380 yards and four touchdowns. The 49ers became very familiar with Boldin in the Super Bowl, where he torched the San Francisco secondary for six catches, 104 yards and a score. Boldin was due $6 million this season and represented a $7.531 million cap hit according to profootballtalk.com, which led the Ravens to request a $2 million pay cut. Coming off his fantastic postseason showing, as well as a bounce back regular season, Boldin refused the cut. He told USA Today it was a matter of principle-- "At no point, no matter how well I played, would I come back to the table and say, 'I need more money.' The contract that I signed was the contract that I intended to play out."
Super Bowl MVP Joe Flacco, the recipient of the largest contract in NFL history this offseason, backed his trusty target when he told reporters "Without him, we don't win the Super Bowl. He's a huge part of this team and someone I want to see back. Obviously, when you're a player of his caliber, you believe you're worth a number and that's what you should get. He's going to stick to his guns, and that's the way it should be."
In the 2012 regular season, Boldin caught 65 balls for 921 yards and four touchdowns. He averaged about four catches and just over 61 yards per game, and 14.3 yards per catch. The Ravens flatly stated that they would not pay the $6 million and Boldin said he would retire if he was cut by Baltimore. Profootballtalk.com reports that the Ravens were so close to cutting Boldin anyway, that he had already prepared a statement thanking fans for their support during the team's improbable Super Bowl run.
The trade cannot be completed until Boldin completes a physical and it is unclear whether Boldin will actually retire.
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