Matthew Slater
Slater with the New England Patriots in 2011 | |||||||||||||||||||
| No. 18 | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Positions | Wide receiver • Gunner | ||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||
| Born | September 9, 1985 Long Beach, California, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 205 lb (93 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||||||
| High school | Servite (Anaheim, California) | ||||||||||||||||||
| College | UCLA (2004–2007) | ||||||||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 2008: 5th round, 153rd overall pick | ||||||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||||||
Playing | |||||||||||||||||||
Coaching | |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
Matthew Wilson Slater (born September 9, 1985) is an American former professional football wide receiver and special teamer who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons with the New England Patriots. A special teams player for most of his career, he is considered one of the greatest gunners of all time.
Slater played college football for the UCLA Bruins, earning first-team All-Pac-10 honors in 2007, and was selected by the Patriots in the fifth round of the 2008 NFL draft. He holds the record for special teams Pro Bowl selections at 10, which he set between 2011 and 2021. Slater was also named to two first-team All-Pros and won three Super Bowl titles. Following his retirement as a player, Slater served as a coaching assistant for the Patriots in 2024.