NFL News NFL News, Reports and Updates
It is the end of the road for Matthew Slater. The longtime captain and special teams ace of the New England Patriots has announced his retirement from the NFL after 16 seasons in the league. Slater rolled out a lengthy farewell in a statement released by the team where he thanked everyone from his family to his teammates to the Kraft family to Bill Belichick.
To begin his farewell statement, Slater referenced the bible verse 2 Timothy 4:7: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
“For as long as I can remember, football has been one of the passions of my heart,” Slater wrote. “Some of my earliest memories of the game are of watching my dad prepare for training camp with the Los Angeles Rams. We spent every summer in Meridian, Mississippi visiting my grandparents. During those hot summer days in Meridian, I would often tag along with my dad to the local high school field. While I sat in the shade asking for snow cones, my father would methodically put himself through the paces. I remember those days more clearly than I remember his games. They weren’t glamorous. There was no crowd around to cheer him on. There were no lights flashing. There were no critics critiquing. Just a man, my hero, dedicating himself to the game he loved so much. Never burdened by the work, he understood it was a blessing to do what he loved. It was a gift from the Lord. To experience the love that my hero had for the game in word and deed was transformative. I soon began to develop those same feelings for the game that had been so good to our family.
“For the last 25 years of my life, 16 of them as a New England Patriot, I have been incredibly blessed to be able to emulate the man I saw on those fields in Meridian by playing the game that I love so much. I have given all that I possibly can to respect and honor the game. Though it is time for my relationship with the game to…
Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/patriots-captain-matthew-slater-announces-retirement-after-16-seasons-with-new-england/
Author : Tyler Sullivan
Publish date : 2024-02-20 15:36:21
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
