Silas Bolden
American football player (born 2001)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Silas Bolden (born November 9, 2001) is an American professional football wide receiver and return specialist. He played college football for the Oregon State Beavers and Texas Longhorns. He has also played for the Minnesota Vikings and Houston Texans.
Return specialist
Fontana, California, U.S.
| Profile | |
|---|---|
| Positions | Wide receiver Return specialist |
| Personal information | |
| Born | November 9, 2001 Fontana, California, U.S. |
| Listed height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) |
| Listed weight | 160 lb (73 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Rancho Cucamonga (CA) |
| College | Oregon State (2020–2023) Texas (2024) |
| NFL draft | 2025: undrafted |
| Career history | |
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |
| Awards and highlights | |
| |
Early life
Bolden attended Rancho Cucamonga High School in Rancho Cucamonga, California, where he caught 132 passes for 2,091 yards and 23 touchdowns and rushed for 290 yards and two touchdowns. He also recorded eight tackles and an interception on defense.[1] Bolden committed to play college football at Oregon State over other schools such as Hawaii, San Jose State, and Utah State.[2]
College career
Oregon State
As a freshman in 2020, Bolden only played one game, returning one kickoff for 17 yards.[3] In 2021, he played 10 games and hauled in three receptions for 25 yards, while also rushing for 13 yards.[3] In week two of the 2022 season, Bolden scored his first career touchdown on a 36-yard rush and brought in one reception for 15 yards in a 35–32 win over Fresno State.[4] In week 3 he caught his first receiving touchdown on a 24-yard catch and returned a kickoff for 80 yards in an 68–28 win over Montana State.[5] In week 5, Bolden caught two passes for 19 yards and had a 29-yard rush for a touchdown in a 42–16 loss to Utah.[6] The next week, he caught two passes for 41 yards and a touchdown in a 28–27 win over Stanford.[7] The next week against Washington State, Bolden returned a kick for 60 yards, adding 14 rushing yards and one catch for four yards, as the Beavers won 24–10.[8] In week 11, he made five receptions for 54 yards in a 31–7 win over Arizona State.[9] In the season finale, Bolden caught two passes for 23 yards and rushed for 14 yards in a 38–34 win over rival Oregon.[10] In the 2022 Las Vegas Bowl, he brought in six receptions for 99 yards and a touchdown in a 30–3 win over Florida.[11] Bolden finished the year with 23 catches for 305 receiving yards and four touchdowns, 105 rushing yards and two touchdowns, and 22 kickoff returns for 599 yards.[3] He was named second-team all-Pac-12 as a return specialist.[12] Ahead of the 2023 season, Bolden was named a preseason second-team all-Pac-12 member as a return specialist.[13]
On January 1, 2024, Bolden announced that he would be entering the transfer portal.[14]
Texas
On January 16, 2024, Bolden announced that he would be transferring to Texas[15] for his senior season. He was the starting punt returner. In the Red River Rivalry game against Oklahoma, Bolden recovered a fumble by Quintrevion Wisner at the end zone, scoring a touchdown for the Longhorns.[16] In the 2024 Peach Bowl against Arizona State, Bolden scored a 75-yard punt return touchdown,[17] making him the first Longhorn to score a punt return touchdown since Xavier Worthy in 2023.[18]
College statistics
| Season | Games | Receiving | Rushing | Kick returns | Punt returns | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | Ret | Yds | Avg | TD | Ret | Yds | Avg | TD | |
| Oregon State Beavers | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2020 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 | 17 | 17.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
| 2021 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 25 | 8.3 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 4.3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
| 2022 | 13 | 3 | 23 | 305 | 13.3 | 4 | 9 | 105 | 11.7 | 2 | 22 | 599 | 27.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
| 2023 | 13 | 10 | 54 | 746 | 13.8 | 5 | 9 | 84 | 9.3 | 2 | 17 | 392 | 23.1 | 0 | 3 | 97 | 32.3 | 1 |
| Texas Longhorns | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | 16 | 0 | 23 | 267 | 11.6 | 1 | 2 | -3 | -1.5 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 9.0 | 0 | 30 | 315 | 10.5 | 1 |
| Career | 53 | 14 | 103 | 1,343 | 13.0 | 10 | 23 | 199 | 8.7 | 5 | 41 | 1,017 | 24.8 | 0 | 33 | 412 | 12.5 | 2 |
Professional career
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft 7+1⁄2 in (1.71 m) | 162 lb (73 kg) | 29+3⁄8 in (0.75 m) | 8+1⁄2 in (0.22 m) | 4.53 s | 1.62 s | 2.59 s | 4.41 s | 7.30 s | 34.0 in (0.86 m) | 10 ft 2 in (3.10 m) | ||
| All values from Pro Day[19] | ||||||||||||
Minnesota Vikings
Bolden signed with the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent on April 26, 2025.[20] He was waived on August 24 as part of preliminary roster cuts.[21]
Houston Texans
On September 3, 2025, Bolden was signed to the Houston Texans practice squad.[22][23] He was released on September 14.[24]
On September 23, 2025 he had a tryout with the Falcons.[25]
Dallas Renegades
He was drafted by the Dallas Renegades in Day 2 of the 2026 UFL Draft.[26] He was released on March 19.[27]
Personal life
Bolden is the younger brother of NFL wide receiver Victor Bolden Jr.[28]