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Six Patriots drop out of season
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More than two dozen players across the NFL have already made the decision to withdraw from the 2020 season due to concerns arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. Kansas City’s Damien Williams, Giants left tackle Nate Solder and Vikings’ Michael Pierce are some of the big names to launch in 2020, but no club has seen more players retire than the New England Patriots. .
A total of six Pats have decided to retire from the season, including three main starters – linebacker Dont’a Hightower, goalkeeper Patrick Chung and right tackle Marcus Cannon. That number almost rose to seven (and possibly more), as team captain and special teams ace Matthew Slater told the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport that he was considering sitting the year before making the decision to play.
This is a positive development for the Patriots as the potential loss of Slater would have impacted the club on several levels. On the pitch he has been a mainstay of special teams since his club selection in 2008. He is arguably one of the greatest gunners of all time, having been named to eight Pro Bowls and five times to the first team. All-Pro. . Slater also helped New England win their previous three Super Bowl titles.
More importantly, Slater is one of the Patriots’ main leaders, which cannot be overlooked after an offseason that saw the departures of Tom Brady, Kyle Van Noy and Duron Harmon in addition to the latter options like Hightower earlier this week. . Having an anchor like Slater in the locker room will be essential for Bill Belichick as he tries to navigate the potentially rough waters of the post-Brady era.
What’s also interesting is the nugget that NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo highlighted on Thursday in “Good Morning Football,” suggesting that “it’s possible” the list of retiring Patriots could have grown even more if Slater, a longtime captain, had decided to spend the year. Of course, players still have a few days to ultimately decide whether or not to step down, but New England can rest a little easier knowing that Slater will stay in place for 2020.
