The Sports Xchange

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Running back Brandon Bolden was primarily a special teams player and fill-in during his first three seasons as an undrafted rookie with the New England Patriots.

But with Stevan Ridley and Shane Vereen gone and LeGarrette Blount suspended for the season opener, there are a lot of offensive reps up for grabs in the backfield this summer.

Some of those could go to second-year back James White or free agent addition Travaris Cadet. Deon Lewis is another option as a diminutive back on passing downs.

But it just might be Bolden, a longtime favorite of the New England coaching staff who steps up to fill the void. He has shown unique skills while serving as a season-long backup to Blount that make him an option in the passing game or pretty much anything else.

“He plays on all four downs,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said after Wednesday’s workout during the second of three days of mandatory minicamp. “He’s a good early-down back, he’s a good third-down back and he’s a good fourth-down back.

“(He’s) one of our best special teams players, certainly one of our best offensive special teams players along with (Matthew) Slater. So, yeah, he’s a very valuable guy, fills a lot of roles, smart, doesn’t need a lot of reps, and he’s got a lot of experience.”

Not surprising for a guy who has so endeared himself to the hard-to-please Belichick, Bolden wasn’t all that talkative when asked about the possibility of expanding his role. He’s looking to, as Belichick might advise, simply to do his job.

“Whatever they call me to do. I’m just excited to play football,” Bolden said. “Reps or no reps. Special teams or offense. I just want to play football.

“I’m just here to do whatever they tell me to do. If they want me to do first and second down, I can. Third down. I can. I’ve been doing fourth down on special teams. Like coach always says — the more you can do. I work at all phases of the game as much as I can.”

Whether Bolden wants to admit it or not, his fourth season in New England could offer his greatest chance to show his versatility. There is a clear need and Bolden might just be the one to fill the void.

— Long snapper Joe Cardova, New England’s fifth-round pick out of the Navy, took part in OTA and minicamp practices. He is the team’s only long snapper on the roster this spring and has looked solid in practice.

But Belichick said it is not yet a certainty that Cardova will be available full time for NFL action because of his remaining military commitments.

“We’ll see,” Belichick said. “He’s been here for pretty much everything that we’ve done. Ultimately, that’s not really our decision. But the Navy has been very cooperative in terms of his responsibilities. But he’s in the Navy; he’s on duty. It’s not like he’s getting out of anything. He’s active. We’ve been able to work the schedules out, so we’ll see how it goes.”

–The Patriots called off the final day of minicamp scheduled for Thursday, giving the team an extra day of summer vacation.

The offseason program also was cancelled, giving the Patriots until the start of training camp at a yet-to-be-determined date to resume practicing.

Before the players were let go for a few weeks, the offense was forced to do some extra running during Wednesday’s practice.

“It was a miscommunication and you have to move fast because that’s our offense — fast-paced,” Patriots wide receiver Brian Tyms said, according to ESPN.com. “You’re trying to pick up the pace so the defense can’t see what we’re doing.

“We didn’t move fast enough and we have to be able to communicate in even the harshest of situations. When everybody is dead tired and has nothing left, you still have to be able to communicate with each other and execute.”

–Defensive end Jake Bequette has been a clear disappointment as a third-round pick in 2012 out of Arkansas.

He saw nearly no action on defense in his three seasons, spending all of 2014 on the practice squad. This year, Bequette is transitioning to tight end. Though he looked raw at times on the practice field, he showed some flashes of offensive ability.

“Jake works hard,” Belichick said. “I think he’s really into it. He wanted to do it, wants to do it and he’s worked really hard at it. The techniques are different, but he played on the end of the line on defense, so he has some familiarity with that kind of spacing over there if you will and what it looks like on the other side of the ball.

“(He’s) athletic in the passing game, he’s got good size and playing strength. We’ll see how it goes in training camp. He’s made a lot of progress and I think he’ll be ready to compete at that position as well as on defense.

“Obviously, we know he can play defense. He’s spent a lot of time over there. We’ll see how it all goes as we get into pads and get into competition and contact. But I think he’s in good position to compete.”

Apparently, it’s a role he has had off and on while in New England.

“We had some depth issues in training camp really the last couple years,” Belichick said. “So on the scout team in practice when our defense was practicing and he was on the practice squad this year and he wasn’t going to be active for the game, then he would take reps at tight end.

“So that kind of caught our eye. He runs well. (When) the quarterbacks threw to him, he caught it, did a competitive job blocking. We just felt like he’s had enough time on defense, and he’s a smart kid — it’s not like learning is an issue for him.

“We felt like he spent enough time on defense, so we put a lot of time in on offense and see where he can get to there and then evaluate it.”