Patriots Veteran Matthew Slater Preparing For Final Game?

Longtime special teams star Matthew Slater may be playing his final game for the New England Patriots on Sunday.

Sunday's season finale against the New York Jets may mark the end of an era for the New England Patriots.

While this game will be a merciful ending to a brutal 4-12 campaign, New England's worst in decades, there's also a good chance it will be the final game of legendary coach Bill Belichick's tenure in Foxboro. Regardless of Belichick's recent shortcomings, he has led the Patriots to unprecedented success over his 24-year run with the team, and it will be very strange to not see him on the sideline if they do decide to move on.

Belichick potentially coaching his final game for the Patriots has been known for some time now, but a more sudden development is the fact that Sunday could mark the last time Matthew Slater suits up for New England.

Matthew Slater (18) / USA Today

Slater, a special teams star who's been with the team since 2008, said he recently spoke to recently-retired defensive back Devin McCourty about how to handle what could be his final NFL game.

“I’m trying to enjoy it as much as I can – take it all in, cherish the moments with the guys,” Slater told MassLive. “The reality is I don’t know what my future holds. I just want to cherish every minute of it. I’ve talked to guys who’ve crossed over, so to speak, D-Mac and (people) like that and they’re just like, ‘Hey, man, enjoy all of it. You know, when it’s gone, it’s gone.’ I’m going to enjoy it and try not to think too much about what lies ahead.”

Slater, 38, may not be as recognizable to the average NFL fan as other Patriots stars over their dynastic run, but he has more than earned his place in the franchise's history. He is a 10-time Pro Bowl selection on special teams, and he was instrumental to New England's last three Super Bowl runs.

According to Belichick, Slater is the greatest special teams player to ever lace up his cleats.

"But the special teams coverage guys -- and we've had a lot of them -- back in the Giants, you know, with Reyna Thompson, and great returners like (Dave) Meggett and (Julian) Edelman and Troy Brown and all that," Belichick said in June. "But as a core special teams player, Slater really is, I'd say, been the best of all time. I hope he gets recognized for that."

Belichick Praises Patriots Captain: ‘Perfect Player’

While this season has been the roughest of Slater's career from a record perspective, he is still extremely proud to represent the Patriots as a team captain.

“We’ve got a lot of high-character guys on this team,” Slater said Sunday. “That’s not something you can measure. It’s not something that shows up in the stats column. It’s not something that shows up in the scouting report, but we have a lot of high-character guys. We could’ve easily gotten the doors blown off of us today with the way we played. It says a lot about the character of the guys on this team.”