The Patriots’ season came to an end on Sunday and it may have been the final game for two of the team’s longtime leaders.
Center David Andrews broke down when asked about the possibility that safety Devin McCourty and special teams ace Matthew Slater would not be back with the team. Neither player had such an emotional reaction when they faced the same questions, but neither one of them offered much in the way of a hint about their plans.
“Just figuring out what makes me happy, what God has planned in my life. Obviously I still enjoy playing the game of football, but you can’t play it forever…have to figure out what’s best of my wife and kids and not just me,” McCourty said, via WEEI.
Slater lamented the role special teams played in a loss that saw Nyheim Hines return two kickoffs for touchdowns and referenced his father Jackie as he reflected on his own career.
“I’ve given it everything I have,” Slater said. “My dad told me when I was young that if I wanted to play the game there was a certain way to go about it. I tried to make him proud and represent his name the right way, because that’s how he did it.”
Neither player is under contract for next season, so there’s no real time pressure for them to make a decision about returning for another year.