Matthew Slater is ‘very disappointed’ about talks of eliminating kickoffs
The NFL has continued to adjust their kickoff rules to decrease the number of kicks returned.
Matthew Slater is listed on the Patriots depth chart as a wide receiver, but he doesn’t earn his salary by catching passes. He has only caught one pass during his eight-year career with the Patriots. Slater is a special teams captain, and one of the best kickoff coverage players on the Patriots and maybe the entire NFL.
So as the NFL owners continue to tweak the rules of kickoffs for player safety, they are decreasing the number of opportunities for the 30-year-old special teams ace to make an impact on the game.
“I’m very disappointed obviously in the way that we’re discussing the future of the kickoff,” Slater said at a press conference Thursday.
In 2011, the NFL moved the kickoff line to the 35-yard line with hopes of decreasing the number of returned kicks. Then in 2016, owners approved moving the touchback line to the 25-yard line to deter players further from returning kicks.
“Field position is huge in this game, and you’re adding an additional five percent of the field to the offense,” Slater said. “I don’t feel like that’s the best thing for the game. I understand that they’re trying to do what’s best in terms of health and safety, and I respect that. I’m obviously our union rep here, so I think that there is nothing more important than the health and safety of our players. But I do not think that the kickoff is a hazard that we need to be thinking about getting rid of.”
Slater isn’t the only player on the Patriots whose main role is special teams. The Patriots’ Nate Ebner and Brandon King were also players on the 53-man game-day roster, and contributed almost solely on kicks and punts.
“The kicking game has meant a lot to the game of football and to a lot of players individually, and it’s enabled guys to have careers,” Slater told reporters Thursday. “You think about [former Patriots special teamer] Larry Izzo, you think about myself. Without the kicking game, we don’t have a career. I’m very disappointed in some of the things I hear in regards to getting rid of the kickoff. I surely hope that’s not the case.”
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