Patriots Captain and Fan Favorite Matthew Slater Reportedly Agrees to Contract Extension
By Sam Dunn
Sports news alert! Ladies and gentleman, we have a sports news alert that has nothing to do with coronavirus! New England Patriots fans, you may now rejoice. While we don't have anything to report on the Tom Brady free agency front just yet, Pats partisans in Boston and beyond can celebrate that special teams star Matthew Slater, a Pro Bowler and team captain, has reportedly agreed to re-sign on a two-year deal.
ESPN's Field Yates was first to report the news.
The Patriots & special teamer/WR Matthew Slater have agreed to a two-year extension, per sources. The deal is similar to his last, which averaged $2.6M/year.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) March 14, 2020
Slater, a longtime team captain, is one of the team’s most respected players & arguably the top ST player in the league.
Slater, who will mark his 13th season in New England this year, is a six-time All-Pro and three-time Super Bowl champ with speed and athleticism to spare. Ostensibly a wide receiver, he's recorded just one NFL catch, but that hasn't stopped him from emerging as one of the Patriots' undisputed leaders and pillars of Bill Belichick's team culture.
The 34-year-old gunner was originally a fifth-round draft pick out of UCLA in 2008, and includes among his career honors the 2017 Bart Starr Award, which is given to the NFL player who best exemplifies leaadership and service in the league and in his community.
so recent word is that the pats are extending matthew slater..... and how do we feel?
— ava (@ajendrysiik) March 14, 2020
AWWWWWW YEAHHHHHH ? pic.twitter.com/L0RUDEoJeS
All told, it's just not possible to picture this guy in a different uniform. Locking him in for two more years is about as smart as smart money gets.