BIOGRAPHY
Matthew Slater was born on September 9th, 1985, in Baldwin Park, California. He is a wide receiver for the New England Patriots in the NFL.
Slater's father was a former LA Rams and NFL Hall of Fame offensive lineman. He attended Servite High School, in his senior year he caught 39 passes for 707 yards and five touchdowns. After graduating, he attended UCLA and was named the first-team All-Pacific-10 conference team as the kick returner and named to SI.com's All-America Team as a kick returner. Slater tied for the national lead with three touchdowns on kickoff returns in 2007. His average 29.0 is the highest in UCLA history among players with at least 20 kickoff returns in a season.
In 2008, Slater was drafted to the New England Patriots. He made his NFL debut against Kansas City. In 2009, he made his first NFL offensive touch at Buffalo with a 6 yard gain on end-around in the second corner. In 2010 he recorded three special teams tackles against the Jets.
In 2011, he recorded his first NFL reception, a 46-yard pass from Tom Brady in the first quarter against the Dolphins. He also made one special team tackle and returned a kickoff 22 yards. Slater was also elected captain for the first time by his teammates. In 2012, played in all 16 regular-season games and both playoff games and led the team with 20 special teams tackles. Also returned two kickoffs for 39 yards (19.5 avg) in the regular season and one for 19 yards in the playoffs. Slater was elected special teams captain by his teammates for the second consecutive season. In 2013, he Elected special teams captain by his teammates for the third consecutive season. In 2014, he Recorded one special team tackle in the Super Bowl XLIX win vs. Seattle. He was also on the field for the final two kneel-downs. In 2019 he scored his first career touchdown when he returned a blocked punt by DB J.C. Jackson 11 yards for a touchdown in the victory at Buffalo. He was added a special teams tackle.
On August 31, 2016, Slater signed a one-year contract extension with the Patriots through 2017. On March 20, 2018, Slater re-signed with the Patriots on a two-year contract. On March 13, 2020, Slater signed a two-year contract extension with the Patriots.
