New England Patriots: Don’t doubt the importance of Matthew Slater

Matthew Slater was rumored to opt-out of the 2020 NFL season and the fallout shows just how important he is to the New England Patriots.

The 2020 offseason keeps getting more and more interesting for New England Patriots fans. The latest out of Foxboro might seem like no big deal but it could have had massive effects on this season.

This week numerous Patriots have announced that they are opting out of the 2020 season. Among these guys are Dont’a Hightower, Patrick Chung, and Marcus Cannon.

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All of these guys aren’t playing for serious reasons. At the end of the day, they are ensuring that their families and themselves stay safe and healthy.

New England will have to make some moves to help mitigate the losses. Hightower is a name that sticks out as he was a foundational part of New England’s defense.

But the Patriots could have had even greater losses and the decisions all seem to stem from Matthew Slater.

It was reported on Thursday that Slater was going to play this season, but had he decided to opt-out, it could have had a ripple effect in New England.

"“I was told (Wednesday) that Slater was leaning toward opting out,” Garafolo said. “(NFL Media’s Ian) Rapoport eventually tracked down Slater, who said, ‘No, it was a tough decision, but I will be playing.’ So there you go, Patriots fans.” Garafolo added that additional Patriots players might have followed suit had Slater chose to sit out due to COVID-19 concerns. “He being a team captain, I gather that some other guys were looking toward Slater to see what he was going to do,” Garafolo said. “So it’s possible this list would have grown even more if Slater had opted out.”"

This just shows how respected Slater is in the locker room. He isn’t just a great special teams player, Slater is one of the most important leaders in the locker room.

Slater has been a team captain for many years and he is someone players look to for guidance. It’s not surprising that players could gauge part of their decision to play based on what he might do.

New England’s special teams unit took a hit when Brandon Bolden decided to opt-out of the season. Losing Slater would be a crucial blow to Bill Belichick’s favorite aspect of the game.

Fans love to make fun of Slater because all he does is special teams but his leadership is arguably his most important skill. With Tom Brady gone, Slater is now one of the older veterans in the locker room. He will be a key part of passing the torch and ensuring that the next generation of Patriots know what it takes to win.

So it will be interesting to see how many more Patriots opt-out. New England has already suffered crucial blows and Slater might have saved them from even more losses.