When considering whether to return for a 15th NFL season, longtime Patriots special teams ace Matthew Slater suggested there were two options: staying in New England or retiring.
“The Patriots had to want me back. I wasn’t going to go anywhere else,” the 10-time Pro Bowler told reporters Thursday morning.
Fortunately, it didn’t seem to take much to convince Bill Belichick to bring him back. After a sit-down with the coach, the Patriots re-signed Slater to a one-year deal worth a fully guaranteed $2.62 million.
He comes back alongside several other veterans like Brian Hoyer, Nick Folk, and Devin McCourty in what seems to be an effort to preserve the “Patriot Way” for a still-retooling team.