Patriots Captain Glad He Put Off Retirement To Play With This Young Standout

FOXBORO, Mass. -- Matthew Slater is in his 16th season with the Patriots, making him by far New England's longest-tenured player.

He's thankful he didn't cut it off at 13 or 14. Why? Because then the longtime special teams captain never would have overlapped with his Pro Bowl-caliber protege, Brenden Schooler.

Schooler joined the Patriots as an undrafted free agent last season and very quickly emerged as one of the NFL's premier special teams aces -- a status he's maintained through the first seven weeks of the 2023 campaign.

Slater, a 10-time Pro Bowler whose unrivaled kicking-game prowess will earn him Pro Football Hall of Fame consideration once he eventually retires, leaps at every opportunity to praise his young counterpart.

"The good Lord didn't give us all the skills that he has in terms of his length, his speed, his quickness," Slater said Wednesday when asked about Schooler. "But I think what really sets him apart is his mental makeup. His understanding of the game, his football IQ, his toughness and just his overall commitment to this football team.

"I mean, you can't ask for a better teammate. You can't ask for a player with better makeup. I say it all the time: I'm glad I stuck around long enough to play with him and excited about what he's going to do in the future."

Though the effectiveness of New England's special teams units has fluctuated this season, Schooler has been consistently impactful. He's tied for third in the NFL in solo special teams tackles with five and became a league-wide sensation when he sprinted in to block a field goal during the Patriots' Week 2 loss to Miami.

The uber-athletic 26-year-old even recovered a Josh Allen fumble on the first defensive snap of his career to ice last Sunday's upset win over the Buffalo Bills.

"I think he's been so consistent since he got here," Slater said Tuesday in a video conference. "I said it last year, and I said it earlier this year: He's a young guy who has really played like he belongs at this level since he got here. And he'll only continue to get better as he understands the game and he sees more looks and gets used to teams game-planning for him.

"He'll just get better and better. I've been so impressed with him -- maybe as impressive as any young player I've ever played with. It's exciting to watch him do what he does. … Hopefully we can keep riding him around here for a long time."