Matthew Slater

Extra Points: Texans, RG3, Chiefs, Patriots

November 15th, 2017 at 9:55pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Texans haven’t tried to hit a home run after losing quarterback Deshaun Watson for the season, as they’ve re-inserted Tom Savage as the starter while signing T.J. Yates, Josh Johnson, and Matt McGloin (since released). While Colin Kaepernick stands out as one signal-caller who could potentially aid Houston, there’s another free agent quarterback who could also make sense for the Texans: former Redskins/Browns passer Robert Griffin III.

“Deshaun’s an incredible player with a really bright future,” Griffin told John McClain of the Houston Chronicle. “I feel like I could help him after my experiences with Washington and Cleveland. I feel like I could help the team. I know a lot of their guys. I think I can do a lot of things they’ve been doing offensively. Texas is home, and I’ve always got a soft spot in my heart for Texas.”

Kaepernick, who notably starred collegiately in Texas at Baylor University, has been linked to a number of clubs this offseason — including the Seahawks, Chargers, and Ravens — but has yet to land a contract. While he’s certainly struggled in recent campaigns, he could theoretically offer upside that Savage, Yates, and Johnson do not. However, the Texans haven’t shown any indication that they plan to move away from Savage in the near future.

Here’s more from around the league:

Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy is considered a “hot name” in NFL circles and could be a head coaching candidate in 2018, according to Michael Lombardi of the Ringer (Twitter link). Nagy doesn’t call plays in Kansas City (head coach Andy Reid handles that duty), but the 39-year-old has helped orchestrate an exotic offense that’s featured career-best performance from quarterback Alex Smith and excellent contributions from young players such as Kareem Hunt and Tyreek Hill. At present, the Chiefs ranks third in offensive DVOA, fifth in yards, and fifth in scoring.
Special-teamer Matthew Slater suffered a “serious” hamstring injury in the Patriots‘ Week 10 victory over the Broncos and could now be sidelined for multiple games, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. A wide receiver in name only, Slater also missed the first four games of the season with a hamstring issue. He’s played only eight offensive snaps this year, but has seen time on a quarter of New England’s special teams plays. The Patriots are a top-five special teams unit in DVOA, as they have been in six of the past seven seasons.
Linebacker Dadi Nicolas (Chiefs) and cornerback Demetri Goodson (Packers) have both begun practicing and now have a 21-day window during which they can be activated from the physically unable to perform list, according to veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer (Twitter links). As Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star writes, the Chiefs are dealing with a number of injuries at linebacker, meaning Nicolas — who appeared in 11 games a season ago — could provide depth. Goodson made three starts for Green Bay in 2016 before going down with a torn ACL.
The Packers worked out running back Dare Ogunbowale on Wednesday while the Giants took a look at kicker Marshall Koehn, tweets Balzer. Green Bay is dealing with injuries to both Aaron Jones and Ty Montgomery, so the club is looking for backfield options. New York, meanwhile, has now auditioned kickers in two consecutive days, a sign the team could be frustrated with incumbent Aldrick Rosas‘ 66.7% field goal conversion rate.

Patriots, Matthew Slater Agree To Extension

August 31st, 2016 at 7:56am CST by Zachary Links

The Patriots and Matt Slater have agreed to an extension, as Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. It’s a It’s a one-year, $1.8MM deal that will take the wide receiver/special teams specialist through 2017.

The five-time Pro Bowler was originally slated to hit the open market following the 2016 season. Slater, who turns 31 in September, has just one reception and seven targets his credit in eight years with the Patriots. Still, he is an important cog in the third facet of the Pats’ game and they wanted to ensure that he would remain in New England beyond this season.

In other Patriots news, one-time Pats hopeful Tim Tebow auditioned for MLB teams on Tuesday afternoon. The Patriots also placed Sebastian Vollmer and Dion Lewis on the PUP list, as expected. Both players will be sidelined for at least six weeks of the NFL season.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

East Notes: Jets, Patriots, Bills, Cowboys

December 27th, 2015 at 6:46pm CST by Sam Robinson

As the Jets’ defeat of the Patriots shakes up the AFC playoff picture, let’s look at some of the news coming out of the Eastern divisions as Week 16 shifts to its night games.

Jets players were stunned the Patriots opted to kick to start overtime, Ryan Hannable of WEEI.com reports. “My face lit up, like ‘You really want to kick the ball?’ I don’t know, but I am glad they did choose to kick,” Calvin Pryor told media, including Hannable. Bill Belichick made the same decision two years ago against the Broncos, a game that featured several overtime punts before a Patriots victory. However, receiving teams don’t have an overwhelming percentage edge since the new OT rules were implemented for the regular season. Just 50.7% of receiving teams have won in extra periods since 2012.
The player who verbalized New England’s decision to kick, Matt Slater, could not retract his call regarding which direction the Patriots wanted to defend, per the NFL rulebook. But a post-regulation conversation between Belichick and referee Clete Blakeman may have set this mistake in motion, Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com writes. Belichick told Blakeman before the coin toss he intended to have his team kick, and Blakeman worded that into his question to Slater, asking “You want to kick?” Once Slater responded, “We want to kick, that way,” Blakeman could only, by rule, follow his first command as teams that win the toss are not permitted to choose both the action that starts overtime or a half and the direction.
Bill Polian‘s recent critique of the current offensive front’s status was a point of contention among the Bills‘ line, Tyler Dunne of the Buffalo News reports. The Hall of Fame ex-Bills GM referred to the Bills’ line as “aging and unathletic,” and the line mates, most notably 29-year-old Eric Wood and 32-year-old Richie Incognito, made it known that upset them. “We were chirping about it a little bit,” Incognito told media, including Dunne. “A lot of text messages back and forth. You know, we noticed it. We’re professionals. And for a guy like Bill Polian — who’s had a lot of success in Buffalo and is a Hall of Fame (executive) — to talk bad about our group like that, it puts a little (expletive) in our grit.” Despite not having LeSean McCoy‘s services, the Bills rushed for 236 yards on 40 carries in their defeat of the Cowboys.
Should Jerry Jones decide to fire Jason Garrett after this disastrous season, he’d have to pay up to do so, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes. The Cowboys‘ coach is finishing out the first season of a five-year, $30MM contract he signed. An about-face on Garrett’s future in Dallas would cost the Cowboys up to $24MM. Garrett’s passive style in terms of deferring credit works well with the attention-hungry Jones, Florio offers.
Eagles defensive coordinator Bill Davis demurred when asked about his job security, responding, “That’s for other men to decide,” according to Paul Domowitch of Philly.com. Davis’ unit has ceded 216 points the past six games. Domowitch notes Chip Kelly’s vote of confidence about Davis’ future doesn’t mean too much considering Andy Reid gave Sean McDermott the same sentiment before firing him five seasons ago. The Philadelphia writer adds Davis is the likely scapegoat for Kelly’s first-year struggles assembling a quality roster.

Examining Notable Pro Bowlers’ Contracts

December 24th, 2014 at 8:30am CST by Luke Adams

The NFL announced its Pro Bowl rosters on Tuesday night, a collection of 42 offensive players, 36 defenders, and eight special teams players. The list features the usual suspects such as Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, and Aaron Rodgers, as well as new faces like Le’Veon Bell, T.Y. Hilton, and Chris Harris, and can be viewed in full right here (PDF link).

Among the 86 players initially selected to appear in the game, several have signed new contracts in 2014, many more will be eligible for new deals in 2015, and others will receive a bump in pay based on their Pro Bowl nods. Here’s a breakdown of the Pro Bowl players with notable contract situations:

Recently signed or extended:

Jamaal Charles, RB (Chiefs): Signed two-year, $18MM extension in July.
Vontae Davis, CB (Colts): Signed four-year, $36MM contract in March.
Jimmy Graham, TE (Saints): Signed four-year, $40MM contract in July.
Brent Grimes, CB (Dolphins): Signed four-year, $32MM contract in March.
Joe Haden, CB (Browns): Signed five-year, $67.5MM extension in May.
Chris Harris, CB (Broncos): Signed a five-year, $42.5MM extension in December.
Devin Hester, KR (Falcons): Signed three-year, $9MM contract in March (changed teams).
Jason Kelce, C (Eagles): Signed six-year, $37.5MM extension in February.
John Kuhn, FB (Packers): Signed one-year, $1.03MM contract in April.
Pat McAfee, P (Colts): Signed five-year, $14.5MM contract in March.
Gerald McCoy, DT (Buccaneers): Signed seven-year, $95.2MM extension in October.
Jordy Nelson, WR (Packers): Signed four-year, $39.05MM extension in July.
Jason Peters, T (Eagles): Signed four-year, $38.3MM extension in February.
Patrick Peterson, CB (Cardinals): Signed five-year, $70.05MM extension in July.
Maurkice Pouncey, C (Steelers): Signed five-year, $44.14MM extension in June.
Robert Quinn, DE (Rams): Signed four-year, $57MM extension in September.
Darrelle Revis, CB (Patriots): Signed two-year, $32MM contract in March (changed teams).
Richard Sherman, CB (Seahawks): Signed four-year, $56MM extension in May.
Matt Slater, ST (Patriots): Signed two-year, $4MM extension in November.
Tyron Smith, T (Cowboys): Signed eight-year, $97.6MM extension in July.
Darren Sproles, PR (Eagles): Traded by Saints, then signed two-year, $7MM extension in March (changed teams).
Joe Staley, T (49ers): Signed two-year, $19.6MM extension in July.
Aqib Talib, CB (Broncos): Signed six-year, $57MM contract in March (changed teams).
Earl Thomas, S (Seahawks): Signed four-year, $40MM extension in April.
Adam Vinatieri, K (Colts): Signed two-year, $5MM contract in March.
T.J. Ward, S (Broncos): Signed four-year, $22.5MM contract in March (changed teams).
DeMarcus Ware, OLB (Broncos): Signed three-year, $30MM contract in March (changed teams).
J.J. Watt, DE (Texans): Signed six-year, $100MM extension in September.

Eligible for free agency in 2015:

Dez Bryant, WR (Cowboys)
Tashaun Gipson, S (Browns), restricted
Stephen Gostkowski, K (Patriots)
Justin Houston, OLB (Chiefs)
Mike Iupati, G (49ers)
John Kuhn, FB (Packers)
DeMarco Murray, RB (Cowboys)
Ndamukong Suh, DT (Lions)
Demaryius Thomas, WR (Broncos)
Julius Thomas, TE (Broncos)

Received Pro Bowl bonuses:

(via Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap)

Mario Williams, DE (Bills): $400K
Matt Slater, ST (Patriots): $300K
Pat McAfee, P (Colts): $250K
Josh Sitton, G (Packers): $250K escalator
Kyle Williams, DT (Bills): $150K
Kam Chancellor, S (Seahawks): $100K
Joe Haden, CB (Browns): $100K
Marcel Reece, FB (Raiders): $100K
Darren Sproles, PR (Eagles): $100K

Perhaps the most interesting – or at least unusual – takeaway from this data is the abundance of cornerbacks on the first list. In fact, all eight cornerbacks initially named as Pro Bowlers (Davis, Grimes, Haden, Harris, Peterson, Revis, Sherman, and Talib) have signed new contracts, either extensions or free agent deals, since March. Rival teams hoping to get their hands on a Pro Bowl corner this offseason will have to focus on Revis — he’s the only one of the eight who can reasonably be expected to become available within the next few months, due to the structure of his contract with the Pats.

Data from Over the Cap was used in the creation of this post.

Patriots Extend Matt Slater Through 2016

November 26th, 2014 at 9:39am CST by Luke Adams

9:39am: Slater’s new deal features $1MM base salaries in 2015 and 2016, along with $100K in incentives in each season, and a $2MM signing bonus, tweets Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald.

8:36am: Slater receives $3MM in guaranteed money as part of his new deal, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.

8:13am: The Patriots and special teams ace Matt Slater have reached an agreement on a contract extension that will keep Slater under contract through the 2016 season, reports Field Yates of ESPN.com (via Twitter). According to Yates, the two-year extension is worth $4MM.

Slater, 29, has been with the Pats since being selected in the fifth round of the 2008 draft. Although he occasionally contributed in the return game and on offense in the past, he has played almost exclusively in kick and punt coverage in recent years, earning Pro Bowl nods in each of the last three seasons. According to Pro Football Focus’ data (subscription required), Slater has logged at least 13 special teams tackles in every full season since 2010 — so far this year, he has 11.

Slater is earning a base salary of $1.2MM in 2014, though his cap number is about $1MM higher than that figure due to bonuses and incentives. It’s not clear how the new deal breaks down, but an annual average value of $2MM seems about in line with the special teams captain’s previous deal.

Pats Notes: Blount, Wilfork, Mallett

January 25th, 2014 at 8:26am CST by Matt Feminis

The Patriots fell in the AFC Championship Game for the second year in a row, in part because the offense was outgunned, as evidenced by the targeting of the likes of Austin Collie, Matt Slater and Matthew Mulligan. An NFC scout gave his take on the Pats’ anticipated plan of action when he spoke with Christopher Price of WEEI.com. The highlights:

The scout credited the offense’s adaptability, but questioned its sustainability, citing a lack of high-caliber talent at the skill positions.
The team would like LeGarrette Blount back, but will not overpay.
When healthy, the offense has versatile, productive elements with the glaring exception of an outside speed threat to stretch the field vertically.
The time is now to begin preparing for life without Vince Wilfork, who is 32 and ended the season on IR. Price posits the team could seek young, versatile interior players to facilitate hybrid flexibility.
A “joker” type, pass-catching tight end could be sought in the draft.
Backup QB Ryan Mallett is a wild card. Aside from his inexperience, it’s unknown to what extent the team trusts him, though he could hold trade value.