Slater's impact will be felt long after his playing days are over

What has Matthew Slater meant to the Patriots?

"Everything," said teammate Deatrich Wise.

Slater's name probably won't be synonymous with the organization when people on the outside look back on the Patriots' nearly two-decade-long run of dominance, but for those on the inside, or the ones who were fortunate enough to watch and cover him, will recognize him as one of the foundational pieces.

"He is just about the perfect player," said Bill Belichick last week when asked about Slater. "The way he trains, prepares, communicates, does everything he can to help the team. He has tremendous, total respect from everybody in the organization -- players, coaches, staff, you name it. And he's earned it. And he earns it every day. He doesn't rest on it. Anything he's done in the past, he comes in, and every day is [like] his first day. Kind of like [former Patriots special teams coordinator] Scott O'Brien said a long time ago, every day he comes in like he might get cut that day. He prepares and practices and performs like, 'If I don't do good today, I'm not gonna be here tomorrow.' And it's a tremendous attitude."

After surprising many within the organization by returning for his 16th season, Slater has hinted a number of times this fall and winter that this may be his last go-round. Of course, those comments came just a day after throwing a key block to spring Jalen Reagor on his kickoff return for a touchdown and then repeatedly stalking the punt returner after beating his block. But the week prior, Slater missed his first game since 2017 and indicated how much work needs to be done to ensure he's there for his teammates week in and week out.

"When you're my age, football requires a lot," he said. "It's not 9-to-5. There are 12 to 14 hours a day, and that's just what it requires from me to get my body ready. At times you almost feel like you're an absentee husband, absentee father. There are certain things that you neglect or certain things that you can't attend to because of the demands of football."

That incredible focus has been displayed as a 5th rounder in the 2008 draft from the beginning. The team had no idea what position he would be - Slater dabbled on defense before eventually becoming a wide receiver who rarely played wide receiver. But he was always a core four special teams guy.

"Matt is like a brother to me. You know, we came in together. And honestly, when you looked around that room the first time we got together as a rookie draft class, he probably would be the last person that you would have chosen to be a potential gold jacket winner," joked Jerod Mayo, the Pats first-round pick in '08. "But what I will say this: Slater has evolved as a man. He's evolved as a player and really has changed the game."

"He identified the things he needed to work on, figured out what his role was, and worked very hard to maximize his role," said Belichick. "He's done, obviously, very well with it."

To say the least. A team captain since 2011 and three-time Super Bowl champion, Slater has been named to the Pro Bowl 10 times and is an 8-time All-Pro (5 1st team honors).

"It's crazy to think I was able to share the field with arguably the best special team player to play the game," said Mack Wilson. "Fast forward to the offseason this year, and you think about the possibility of Slater not being on the team...it hits even harder. I'm just so blessed to have shared the field with him for two years."

"He is, in my opinion, a Hall of Famer," added Wise.

It goes beyond his work on the field, and that's part of why knowing this could be it for Slater also resonates. He has been one of the leading voices in that locker room for over a decade and someone to be relied upon in good times, bad times, and the grey in between.

"You can't put into words in a 15-minute press conference or whatever it may be what Matt Slater's meant to - not just myself individually, this organization, and to the game of football," said special teams coach Cam Achord. "This guy embodies everything you want in a human being: off the field, on the field, the way he carries himself, the way he leads. The way he brings other men with him on the field and off the field. 

"He is the true testament, I believe - if you could create a football player to coach - Matt Slater is the guy I'm going to create. He's going to be the leader of the locker room. He's going to walk that line, and he's going to push guys. He's going to bring younger guys along with him. He's going to push the older guys to be great on the field. He's going to push guys to be great human beings, great fathers off the field."

Mayo, who couldn't help but needle Slater for his fashion sense back in the early days - think Steve Urkel with skinny jeans and exposed ankles - brought himself back to the root of what made Slater much more than some special teams maven.

"I think coach called him the perfect player. I would also call him the perfect teammate, and I will call him the perfect brother as well because we don't only talk about football, we talk about life," said Mayo. "I respect his opinion both on and off the field and as a spiritual leader inside this building. And I think that's part of it, right? A lot of people think about X's and O's. But there's also a man, there's also a player, there are also women in the building that you have to figure out a way to reach mind, body, and soul, and I would say Slater has definitely been the model of a guy that can touch people in different ways."

Slater has done that, representing the franchise as well as anyone ever has. He is as classy as he is great, and if this is indeed it, Slater will be missed and not easily replaced - if he can be replaced at all.