Matthew Slater may not be a household name, but his importance to the New England Patriots over the years has been undeniable.
While he is a wide receiver by nominal position, Slater has logged just one catch since entering the NFL with the Patriots in 2008. Where he has carved out a niche is on special teams, now having earned eight straight Pro Bowl selections as well as notching First-Team All-Pro honors a couple of times for his work in that area.
But the 34-year-old is a free agent this offseason, meaning his future is somewhat cloudy.
Still, Slater does not want to retire, and he doesn't want to play anywhere other than New England:
“I think I’ve expressed several times my desire to play the entirety of my career here,” Slater said, via Jeff Howe of The Athletic. “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 also said that he wants to keep playing, but that “we just have to see how things go from here.”
Of course, Slater is hardly the only key member of the Patriots who is hitting free agency, as quarterback Tom Brady is set to explore the open market, and there does appear to be some legitimate concern that he will not be returning to the Pats.
As Slater said, we'll just have to wait and see how everything shakes out in March.
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