FOXBOROUGH — Will Sunday mark the last NFL game for Patriots special teams captain Matthew Slater?
The 38-year-old veteran isn’t saying, but it is certainly shaping up to be a farewell for a player who set the standard for special-teams play the last decade-plus.
There was a rare burst of gospel music at practice Wednesday, a clear nod to a man who has been outspoken about his faith and what it’s meant to his development as a player and person. And while his teammates wouldn’t give up any secrets, there seemed to be a growing belief in the locker room that Sunday’s game against the Jets will be the end of the road for him as a player.
“His mother and I are very, very happy for him to see him have the career that he’s had,” said his father, Hall of Famer Jackie Slater, who played 20 NFL seasons. “We’ve been very, very fortunate to see him excel in an organization like New England for so long.
“We know how difficult a road it’s been for him, and the difficult job that he’s been asked to do. And to see him continue to make the team and thrive, it says a lot about his passion for the game and the people around him that he’s been able to do that.”
A fifth-round pick in 2008, Slater came out of UCLA as a wide receiver but found his niche on special teams. He was a part of three Super Bowl champions, helping spark a special teams unit that consistently was one of the best in the league.
A two-time All-Pro and perennial Pro Bowler currently in his 16th season, Slater has had an impact on the franchise that runs the gamut from off-field counseling of teammates to on-field chaos he creates as a gunner.
“Matthew was easily the best teammate that I’ve ever been around,” said former Patriots wide receiver Chris Hogan, who said he gets chills thinking that Sunday could be the final game of Slater’s career.
“He was a guy who was in the locker room that you could talk to. He was a guy who if you had something going on in your family, if you had something going on outside of football, Matthew was a guy who I confided in. Overwhelming support for every one of his teammates. It was incredible.”
“I’ll say this: He’s probably the best leader I’ve ever been around,” said current special teamer Chris Board. “When he talks, it holds weight.”
Brad Seely, who was the Patriots’ special teams coordinator from 1999-2008, said Slater embodies everything you look for on that unit.
“To me, there are three attributes a guy has to have to be a good special teams player,” said Seely. “He has to be really tough, he has to be really fast, and he has to be really smart. And Matthew has all three of those attributes. That last one, that’s allowed him to stay in the league as long as he has.
“There will always be fast guys. There will always be tough guys. But very few players have the smarts that Matthew has. He understands angles, and leverage, and all of the little things he had to understand to succeed.”
For his father, it’s an unmatched tenacity that sets Slater apart.
“I think that when you talk about toughness on special teams, that’s a whole different thing,” Jackie Slater said. “Most people who play football are tough. But when you talk about special teams, there’s a tenacity, a refusal to be defeated in great special teamers.
“That’s a very, very, rare, rare quality that I can see in him.”
Like his father, Slater could have his career capped off with a gold jacket from the Hall of Fame. Bill Belichick said in June he was very fortunate to coach the best offensive player in football (Tom Brady), the best defensive player (Lawrence Taylor), and the best special teams player.
That being said, special teamers are few and far between in Canton, Ohio. Seely pointed to Slater and former Bills star Steve Tasker as two who deserve to get the call to the Hall.
“Over the years, where it really showed up to me was when we were game planning against the Patriots, and he wasn’t in the game,” said Seely, who also was special teams coach for the Browns, 49ers, Raiders, and Texans before retiring in 2020.
“Their special teams weren’t the same, because you knew he was capable of making a play that was going to change the game, or change the momentum of the game. When he missed a game where he was going to be an opponent, there was a feeling of, ‘Oh, thank God we don’t have to worry about Matthew this week.’ ”
His 16th season won’t end like the first 15, but Slater’s ability to get the job done hasn’t wavered. In last Sunday’s game against the Bills, he played 86 percent of the special teams snaps and finished with a pair of tackles.
“I think he still understands what he needs to do as a player, whether that’s on the perimeter, on punt, on kickoffs being a penetrator,” said fellow gunner Brenden Schooler, who was 11 when Slater broke into the league.
“The proper return. The proper blocking angles. He understands where the ball needs to go, or where he needs to be to help prevent the ball from getting vertical.”
While there’s still some question about whether Sunday will be the end of the road for Slater as a player, there’s no doubt as to his legacy, particularly if you ask Belichick.
“He’s had a tremendous career,” Belichick said recently. “All of the Pro Bowls and recognition, that’s so well-deserved. Personally, what he brings to the team off the field — leadership, work ethic, guidance, motivation, etc. — is very unique and extraordinary. The very top.”
Christopher Price can be reached at christopher.price@globe.com. Follow him on Bluesky at christopherprice.bsky.social.