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Boldin says he might not play against Panthers

Cardinals wide receiver is nursing hamstring injury ahead of playoff game

Image: Boldin blocked
Matt York / AP
Cardinals wide receiver Anquan Boldin (81) is blocked by the Falcons' Domonique Foxworth on Saturday.
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updated 4:38 p.m. ET Jan. 7, 2009

TEMPE, Ariz. - Arizona wide receiver Anquan Boldin rested his injured hamstring on Wednesday and said he's not sure he'll play in the divisional playoff at Carolina.

Boldin hurt the hamstring on a 71-yard touchdown catch in Arizona's 30-24 victory over Atlanta in the wild-card round last weekend. He's undergoing treatment but doesn't plan to test the hamstring before gametime on Saturday.

"Still tight,'' said Boldin, who watched practice with his red No. 81 jersey draped over his shoulder. "I'm not sure at this point. I'm just taking it a day at a time, trying to do what I can to get it better.

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"I'm just trying to lay off it right now,'' he added. "Just rest it. Do enough to get me going but not to aggravate it.''

If Boldin can't go, the Cardinals will rely more heavily on another Pro Bowl receiver, Larry Fitzgerald. Steve Breaston, who caught 77 passes for 1,006 yards and three touchdowns, is also likely to play a bigger role, as will rookie Early Doucet.

The Cardinals went 3-1 without Boldin this season, defeating Buffalo, Dallas and Seattle at home and losing at New England.

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Boldin caught nine passes for 63 yards and two touchdowns and also had a 30-yard run in a 27-23 loss at Carolina on Oct. 26, his first game back after taking a vicious helmet-to-helmet hit from the New York Jets' Eric Smith.

"Anquan's a special player, and if we don't have Anquan that certainly hurts us to some degree,'' coach Ken Whisenhunt said. "But the thing that we do have going for us is that we've played without Anquan a couple of games this year, and more importantly we were successful against some good football teams with that.''

Despite missing four games with injuries, Boldin caught a career-high 11 touchdown passes in the regular season, tied for third-most among NFL receivers. He was selected to the Pro Bowl for the third time.

© 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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