10-time Pro Bowl special teamer Matthew Slater isn’t buying that the NFL’s new kickoff rules were made in the name of player safety.
Speaking to the media Wednesday, the Patriots captain admitted: “I’m just not convinced our league is gonna do what’s in the best interests of our players.”
Mentioning Thursday night football games, the choice of turf over grass and no post-career insurance past five years before adding, “The reality is they haven’t done a single thing to make the play safer.”
Patriots ST captain Matt Slater on the kickoff rule: “I’m just not convinced our league is gonna do what’s in the best interests of our players.” Mentions TNF, grass vs. turf, post-career benefits.
“The reality is they haven’t done a single thing to make the play safer.”
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) May 31, 2023
The NFL recently approved a change that will allow players to fair catch on kickoffs and have the ball placed at their own 25-yard line for the 2023 season.
“The kickoff play for us has been a play that has had a lot of changes for us over the years, all really driven by health and safety,” Rich McKay, chairman of the league’s competition committee, said of the move.
“The concussion rate on the play has gone up. It’s gone up because the ball is being returned more by kicks that are being hung inside the 5-yard line. College made this rule change in maybe 2018 or 2019. We looked at their data and said, you know what, this is the right thing to do now,” he continued. “We needed to do something. We just can’t sit there and ignore that data.”
The 37-year-old Slater is one of the most well-respected voices in the NFL. It’ll be interesting to see how deep these words cut the next time players and owners meet at the negotiating table.