Getty Matthew Slater wants to return. But will it be with the Patriots?
The New England Patriots may be awaiting Tom Brady‘s decision, but they already have another Pro Bowler’s decision.
According to The Athletic’s Jeff Howe, special teams captain and eight-time Pro Bowler Matthew Slater has already stated that he wants to return for the 2020 season.
“I definitely feel like my family and I thought about it a lot,” Slater told Howe. “I still love to play and want to continue to play. I guess as of now, I want to keep playing. We just have to see how things go from here. There are a lot of things up in the air that I don’t know, but I’m going to approach it as though I’m preparing to play next year. We’ll kind of go from there. That’s where we’re at.”
With that being said, Slater is a free agent this offseason. He’s one of a number of high-profile free agents for the Patriots, including the likes of Devin McCourty, Kyle Van Noy, Jamie Collins, Nate Ebner and Joe Thuney. And of course, Brady.
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Slater Unsure of Return To New England
With all of this mind, Slater acknowledges he’s unsure of his future in the NFL — which means he’s unsure if he’ll return to New England for a 13th season because it’s out of his hands.
“I think I’ve expressed several times my desire to play the entirety of my career here,” Slater told Howe. “When you play 12 years in one location, it’s hard for you to imagine playing anywhere else. I’ve certainly expressed that publicly. I’ve expressed that privately. But again, ultimately, sometimes that decision isn’t always in your hands. We’ll see how things go moving forward.”
Slater was originally a little-known fifth-round draft choice of the Patriots back in 2008. However, he’s managed to carve out one of the best careers in Patriots history. As arguably the best special teams player in franchise history, the 34-year-old Slater has not only been named to the Pro Bowl on eight occasions, he’s also been named a six-time First-Team All-Pro.
During the 2019 season, Slater was one of three Patriots elected to the Pro Bowl. In fact, he broke Steve Tasker’s NFL record for most Pro Bowl selections by a special teams player. He also scored his first career touchdowns and blocked his first career punt during the season.
With the exception of Brady and kicker Stephen Gostkowski, Slater is the longest-tenured Patriots player on the roster.
Patriots Want Decision From Tom Brady Sooner Than Later
In the latest news surrounding the six-time Super Bowl champion, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that the Patriots want a decision from Brady sooner rather than later. In other words, they don’t want to be blindsided by a possible Brady retirement in late March when all of the top free agent QB’s are already signed.
“Here’s the situation: I don’t believe the New England Patriots are waiting until March 16 to get an answer from Tom Brady,” he said. “Last year, Rob Gronkowski wound up retiring in late March. I don’t know the conversations they did and didn’t have before, but New England missed the window on free-agent tight ends. So I don’t think they’re going to let Tom Brady go to free agency, all of a sudden, sign with Team X, and then on March 20, say ‘Well, what do we do at quarterback now?’ That’s not the way that organization operates.”
Because Rob Gronkowski made his decision late, the Patriots were unable to sign or acquire an adequate tight end to replace him. In fact, they lured the 38-year-old Benjamin Watson out of retirement to replace him.
The Patriots will look to avoid a similar situation this season.
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