Patriots’ Matthew Slater Jokes About Initially Not Liking Tom Brady

Matthew Slater had a bone to pick with Tom Brady before they became Patriots teammates.

Slater is the son of legendary offensive tackle Jackie Slater, who played all 20 seasons of his Pro Football Hall of Fame career with the Rams. Seven years after the seven-time Pro Bowl selection retired, Brady and the Patriots took down St. Louis’ “Greatest Show on Turf” to win Super Bowl XXXVI in the quarterback’s first season as New England’s starter.

The stunning upset on football’s biggest stage was top of mind for Slater when he arrived in Foxboro, Mass. as a rookie in 2008.

“I didn’t like him (Brady) when I got here,” Slater joked to reporters Wednesday, per the Boston Herald. “I was like, ‘I don’t know about this Brady guy.'”

Of course, Slater and Brady went on to accomplish great things together. The pair of franchise legends were at the forefront of leadership groups for three Super Bowl-winning teams in New England. And as fate would have it, the last Lombardi Trophy that Slater and Brady won together came at the expense of — you guessed it — the Rams.

Brady and Slater will reunite Sunday when the iconic signal-caller is honored by the Patriots during their season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles at Gillette Stadium. The details of the festivities are sparse, but Slater is confident team owner Robert Kraft and the powers that will be will do a “great job” of celebrating Brady.