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NFL notes: Anquan Boldin abruptly announces his retirement

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Anquan Boldin abruptly announced his retirement just under two weeks after signing with the Buffalo Bills.

General manager Brandon Beane made it official Sunday night by saying the team respects Boldin’s decision to retire. Boldin’s decision came as a complete surprise especially after he talked about building on his legacy entering his 15th season and serving as a mentor for Buffalo’s young group of receivers.

The Bills, however, aren’t the same team since. Buffalo traded its top receiving threat in Sammy Watkins to the Los Angeles Rams as part of two blockbuster deals Aug. 11. In a separate trade, the Bills acquired receiver Jordan Matthews from Philadelphia.

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Boldin was the NFL’s 2015 Walter Payton Man of the Year winner and ranks in the top four among active receivers with 1,076 catches, 13,779 yards receiving and 82 touchdowns receiving.

Boldin appeared in just one preseason game for Buffalo, and finished with one catch for 5 yards in a 20-16 loss to Philadelphia on Thursday night.

Conner leads Steelers past Falcons

Rookie running back James Conner set up Pittsburgh’s winning fourth-quarter touchdown pass in the Steelers’ 17-13 exhibition victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.

Conner, the former University of Pittsburgh star who overcame Hodgkin’s lymphoma and a serious right knee injury to reach the NFL, broke off runs of 17 and 19 yards, leading to Bart Houston’s six-yard touchdown pass to Justin Hunter.

Conner was greeted with an ovation on the third series of the game when he made his first carry. The third-round pick busted off three other runs longer than 10 yards and ended his NFL debut with 98 yards rushing on 20 carries.

Matt Ryan led the Falcons to a touchdown in his only series and finished four for six for 57 yards. In two series during the preseason, Ryan, the 2016 NFL’s most valuable player and offensive player of the Year, has gone six for eight for 88 yards with a touchdown and a 123.6 passer rating.

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Etc.

The Washington Redskins have activated tight end Jordan Reed from the physically-unable-to-perform list. Reed had been on the list since the start of training camp in late July because of an injury to the big toe on his left foot. ... The Jacksonville Jaguars have signed veteran running DuJuan Harris and waived/injured cornerback Charles Gaines. ... The Buffalo Bills have signed tight end Rory Anderson and safety Adrian McDonald. Buffalo freed up the two roster spots by designating tight end Jason Croom as waived/injured and releasing punter Austin Rehkow.

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