Special teams captain Matthew Slater has been a member of the team since he was drafted in 2008.
n an offseason full of change, it seems as though one thing won’t.
The Patriots’ special teams captain is back.
After paying a free-agent visit to Pittsburgh on Saturday, Matthew Slater has reportedly agreed to a two-year contract with the Patriots that could take him into retirement and his planned post-football career as a minister.
One of the team’s leaders in the locker room, the 32-yearold Slater’s responsibility in that regard far exceeds that of many of those who may contribute more to the team on the field on game day.
On the field, Slater has been named a Pro Bowler seven straight years dating to 2011, even the past year when hamstring injuries that began in training camp limited him to 12 games, nine in the regular season and the three in the postseason that culminated with the team’s 41-33 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LII.
ESPN’s Mike Reiss reported on Tuesday night that Slater, a member of the Patriots since they selected him in the fifth round of the 2008 NFL Draft out of UCLA, had agreed to a two-year deal with the team.
Speculation that Slater’s time in New England was nearing an end escalated when he visited the Steelers on Saturday and reports surfaced the following day that the Patriots had agreed to a deal that brought in kickoff returner-wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson, who also has experience as a gunner in punt coverage, in a trade with the Oakland Raiders.
In addition to his perennial selection to the Pro Bowl, the 6-foot, 205-pound Slater has served as a team captain with the Patriots since 2011.
A five-time leader in special teams tackles on the Patriots, with a career high of 21 in 2010, Slater finished with seven stops in that aspect of the game in 2017.