FOXBORO -- Over the last several years, the NFL has taken steps to de-emphasize kickoffs and now there's some talk of potentially eliminating them all together.
Speaking Tuesday at Gillette Stadium, Patriots special teams captain Matthew Slater gave a passionate defense for keeping the play in the game.
"Well, certainly, something like that is hard to miss," he said. "A lot of people will say I have a bias because it's what I do for a living, and I understand that, but I think it's no mystery that I'm closer to the end of my career than I am to the beginning. That being said, I think you take away this play from football [and] you're changing the fabric of the game. I think this play is part of the fabric of the game. It really makes me ask the question 'Where do you go from here? What will happen next?', and I don't know the answer to that. I don't know.
"But I look at a number of plays. I look at a goal-line-stand. I look at a third-and-1; think about the collisions that are happening there. Those may be deemed unsafe by some people. If you make a drastic change such as this, what's next? What happens? The reality is this is football. This is a contact sport. This is a violent sport, and all of us that are playing the game understand that. There are inherent risks that come along with playing the game. If you're not OK with those risks, I respect that, and maybe you should think about doing something else. But if we feel like we need to take away this play from the game to make the game safer, well then what does that stop? The game has changed so much in my lifetime, since my father played, watching him play until now, and I understand.
"Look, I'm a player rep, and nobody cares more about player health and safety than the players, than the men that are out there on the field putting their bodies on the line. That being said, we understand we're playing football. To take away the kickoff, I really think it would be tragic. I really think, like I said, you're changing the fabric of the game that we all love to cover, report on, that we love to play, coach, and I think it's very disheartening to continue to have this brought up. I understand, look, people are concerned with the long-term health and safety of the players.
"But as I said, no one's more concerned than the men that are actually out there doing it, and if we're OK doing it, I don't understand why we have to continue to look for alternatives, continue to push. Those are just my thoughts on it. As you can tell, I feel strongly about it and would love to continue that dialogue throughout the course of the season."
Slater has made a career of being a special teams player, making the Pro Bowl seven times.
