Did Patriots’ Matthew Slater Hint At Plan To Retire After Season?

FRANKFURT, Germany — Matthew Slater touched on a wide range of topics during his nearly 20-minute news conference Friday, from the Patriots-Colts rivalry and his previous games in London and Mexico City to European fans loving kickoffs and beating Ezekiel Elliott in soccer trivia. He even threw in a Y.A. Tittle reference.

But amid all of the words New England’s longtime special teams captain spoke into the microphone after Friday’s practice at the DFB Campus, five stood out.

While discussing the novelty of playing a regular-season NFL game in Germany, as the Patriots will this Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts, Slater noted that he’s “very close to the end” of his Hall of Fame-caliber career.

How close? He wouldn’t reveal that. Asked whether he’s planning for this to be his final season, the 38-year-old replied: “We shall see. We shall see.”

“I’m honestly just taking it day by day,” Slater added. “At my age, I’m happy I can just get out there and still run down the field without stuff breaking. I’m thankful to still be doing it and just taking it day by day.”

But given that age and the fact that this Patriots season is tracking to be by far the worst of Slater’s tenure from a team perspective, it would not be at surprising if the ace gunner hung ’em up this winter.

Slater is the lone remaining three-time champion on New England’s roster, having played for the Super Bowl-winning teams in 2014, ’16 and ’18. Their two second-longest-tenured players, center David Andrews and long snapper Joe Cardona, both joined the team in 2015, by which point Slater already had collected four Pro Bowl selections.

He now owns 10. He’s one of, if not the greatest special teams player in NFL history and will have a compelling case for the Pro Football Hall of Fame once he becomes eligible.

Slater did offer certainty on one aspect of his career, however. He said there’s no chance he’ll ever take another snap at his listed position of wide receiver.

“Absolutely not,” said Slater, whose lone NFL catch came back in 2011. “I’m retired from receiver.”