Patriots Star Announces Surprising 2020 Plans
A Patriots star announced his surprising 2020 plans this week.
As all of New England awaits Tom Brady’s decision regarding next season, a teammate of his made just that.
Special teams star Matthew Slater indicated on Wednesday that he has no plans of retiring.
As such, the 34-year-old is exploring his options regarding what situation will suit him best next season.
Slater was drafted by the Patriots in 2008 and has played with the team ever since then.
Patriots special teams captain Matthew Slater is at the Pro Bowl, where @ESPNdirocco was with him as Slater discussed how he isn’t ready to retire. Slater also relayed that he expressed to the Patriots that he would like to return. Slater’s comments: pic.twitter.com/epKXkuraFr
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) January 22, 2020
Over the course of his career he has amassed three Super Bowl rings, eight Pro Bowl nods and five All-Pro selections.
Speaking to ESPN NFL insider Mike Reiss, Slater admitted that he still has the competitive fire within him.
“I think the way I look at it right now, I still love playing football and I still appreciate the opportunities I have to forge relationships and be with my teammates and play the game I love,” he said.
“Every aspect of it, I love. As I said after the year, I was going to pray about it with my family.
“We have. It’s my desire to continue to play… I’m going to prepare and approach it as though I’m going to continue to play and we’ll see how it goes.”
The question then becomes: if Slater does play in 2020, who will he play for?
“It’s hard for me to visualize myself playing anywhere else,” he acknowledged.
“But that’s not always my decision so I think that’s out of my control.
“I’ve expressed publicly and privately to remain a Patriot for the entirety of my career and certainly I still feel that way, so we’ll see how it goes.”
New England is expected to make a final decision regarding Slater and his status with the team at some point in the next few months.
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A graduate from the University of Texas, Anthony Amador has been credentialed to cover the Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks and high school games all over the Lone Star State. Currently, his primary beats are the NBA, MLB, NFL and UFC.
