The New England Patriots lost the biggest star in their franchise history, but they still have some stable leadership among their players.
The Patriots re-signed Matthew Slater in free agency to a two-year deal reportedly worth around $2.6 million per season. Slater has been with the Patriots since being drafted by them in 2008 and is a long time special teams captain. With Brady gone, he could become a bigger voice in the locker room espousing the Patriot Way.
Slater said on a conference call with the media Monday that the team’s standard will not drop off without Brady.
“The standard doesn’t change at all,” Slater said Monday via The Boston Globe. “The pillars that we stand upon, they don’t change at all. I think if you go into the season with a defeatist mind-set, then you can’t expect to be successful. We’re not the victims here. We have a great opportunity, we have a lot of good football players, we have a tremendous coaching staff.”
Slater is an 8-time Pro Bowler and regarded as one of the best special teams players in the league, so his leadership example will probably be respected among the Patriots.
While we have no doubt that Slater will be able to keep the Patriot Way going, the big question is what kind of play the team will get from the quarterback position. So far, some players seem to be high on Jarrett Stidham.
