Patriots fans can breathe a sigh of relief as Matthew Slater has re-signed with the team after a brief flirtation with the Steelers. The core special teamer and team leader has become the heart and soul of the Patriots locker room, most often leading the Patriots post-game cheer that was started by Tedy Bruschi over a decade ago.
Special teams captain Matthew Slater is returning to the Patriots on a two-year deal, per source.
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) March 20, 2018
Many of us wondered if the signing of Cordarrelle Patterson, a core special teamer and gunner himself, signaled an end to the Slater era, but alas the Patriots will now have two lightning fast players on the punt team who can get downfield and snuff out any potential punt returns.
The return of Slater also bodes well for a Patriots team looking for somewhat of a locker room reset after a season filled with more off-field drama than usual.
Slater’s story is one of the more remarkable ones under Bill Belichick. Drafted in the fifth round of the 2008 draft, the pick was instantly panned because Slater didn’t really have a position in college. It’s become a running joke how Belichick loves him some special teams players and this was clearly one of those picks. Twitter was just getting started in 2008, but you can imagine the outrage and jokes that would’ve been made about “wasting” a fifth-round pick on a guy like Slater these days.
What Belichick could see was a player who could singlehandedly affect field position with his downfield speed, while also emerging as a role model and leader within the locker room.
As I mentioned on Patshow yesterday, Slater’s value on special teams and off the field overshadows how much I groaned every time I’ve ever seen him line up at kick off returner or receiver. Slater’s only got one career catch, but the Patriots have targeted him eight times, each a deep field shot that fell incomplete seven times. This illustrates just how desperate the Patriots could be for a “deep threat” in the years after Randy Moss, especially when receiver depth was thinned by injuries.
Slater’s kickoff returns were always terrifying, as he’d seem to just run full speed into oncoming traffic, often leading to hits that made you gasp. These kind of plays might’ve been exhibit A when the NFL wanted to reduce the number of kickoff returns.
Despite not being a receiver or kickoff returner, Slater’s value to the Pats is undeniable and it’s no surprise to see Patriots fans universally celebrating his return.