Bill Belichick didn’t make any official announcements about his future on Sunday and neither did Matthew Slater, but it felt like the end of the road for both of the Patriots stalwarts.
Slater had an emotional pregame meeting with family caught on video before facing the Jets and many in the Patriots organization, including owner Robert Kraft, wore sweatshirts honoring the longtime special teams star before the game.
Slater said after the 9-3 loss that he was “blown away” by that gesture and then pushed any discussion of his future plans to some point down the line.
“Let’s talk about that another day,” Slater said, via Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald. “Just want to express my thanks to the guys in that locker room today. So, very appreciative of all the love and support that I received this whole season, certainly today and this week. I’m just proud to be part of that group. Even though the season was what it was, to come in every day and be able to work with those guys really meant a lot to me.”
Slater was a 2008 fifth-round pick in New England and he has won three Super Bowls while being named to two All-Pro teams and 10 Pro Bowls over the course of his run with the Patriots.