New England Patriots bringing back Matthew Slater is a GOOD thing

With the way the NFL off-season has been going, the New England Patriots have a lot to get their fans excited about.

A whole new (legitimate!) offensive coaching staff along with rumors of potentially getting a big name receiver have taken up a lot of the headlines.

But one headline that recently came up was the return of Pro-Bowl Special teams player Matthew Slater. It was announced Saturday that the former UCLA Bruin would return for his 16th NFL season in 2023.

Now, a lot of people have opinions about the 37 year old Slater returning. My personal opinion? It’s a VERY GOOD thing that Matthew Slater will return to the Patriots in 2023.

New England Patriots keeping a leader in Matthew Slater for one more season

There’s no question that this Patriots team needs leadership. This is where Matthew Slater serves perfectly in his role as the “elder statesman” of the Patriots.

We’ve seen what Matthew Slater does on the field and off the field. Make the Pro Bowl on special teams and donate to several charities off of the field. The man is as class of an act as they come!

But having someone still in the locker room that’s won three Super Bowls is something that shouldn’t be going under the radar. He literally knows what it takes to win in the NFL.

Sure, the Patriots have gone 25-26 in the last three seasons; even with Slater a part of the team. But for someone to do things the “Patriot Way”, look no further than the former 2008 fifth round draft pick himself.

New England Patriots keeping a solid player in Matthew Slater on special teams

It’s no secret that the Patriots special teams was brutal to watch the last few seasons.

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Now again, I understand that Matthew Slater is 37 years old and has 15 seasons of playing time under his belt already. But why wouldn’t you take a guy that has double-digit special teams tackles in 11 straight seasons?

You can always use the draft and free agency to plug in the other holes for the special teams unit. And it wouldn’t hurt to get Cam Achord far away from this unit too! But those are things to worry about later.

For now, let’s be fortunate that Matthew Slater even still wants to come back and be productive for a special teams unit that could use him quite frankly.

The bottom line with Matthew Slater and the New England Patriots

For the contract Matthew Slater is coming back for, the Patriots are extremely fortunate that he’s coming back.

There are still other areas for the Patriots to fix on the special teams unit. But Slater in place at least gives you some familiarity and comfortability to help fix the problem.

For the others that think it’s bad Slater is back because it means the unit is worse off than we thought, that’s a fair point. But again, give us the guys that have done it before and can continue to produce. Matthew Slater is a model of consistency for this Patriots organization.

His day of recognition for the Patriots Hall of Fame will come soon enough. But for now, let’s enough one more season of Slate.

How do we feel…about Matthew Slater back for season 16? AWWWWWWWWWWW YEEEEEAH!