Buffalo’s Boldin abruptly retires

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.

“We appreciate the time he gave us over the past two weeks,” Beane said in a statement released by the Bills. “He is one of the best receivers to play this game and we wish him and his family all the best moving forward.”

Boldin’s decision came as a complete surprise and 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.

Steelers top Falcons

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

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 fourfor-six passing 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.

Etc.

The Washington Redskins activated tight end Jordan Reed (injured big toe) from the physically-unable-to-perform list . ... The Jacksonville Jaguars have signed veteran running DuJuan Harris and waived/injured cornerback Charles Gaines . ... The 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.