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Patriots' Matthew Slater Sounds Off on New Kickoff Fair Catch Rule

Matthew Slater sounds off on new kickoff fair catch rule originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The NFL's new fair-catch kickoff return rule isn't sitting well with many prominent figures across the league.

Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid, Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh, and Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell are among those who have publicly shared their frustration with the change, which will allow kick returners to signal for a fair catch anywhere inside their own 25-yard line. New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick said he "probably agrees" with his peers' criticism.

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Patriots special teams ace Matthew Slater added his two cents at the team's OTA practice on Wednesday. As a player who -- much like his father -- has made an outstanding NFL career out of the kicking game, he didn't hold back.

"It's my understanding that the powers that be think that this is going to improve player safety and health," Slater said of the rule. "And I'm just not convinced that our league is always going to do what's in the best interests of our players. I understand that we want to reduce head injuries and things of that nature. But we don't always act as if player health and safety is paramount.

"We can talk about the Thursday night games. That's an easy one. I mean, that's low-hanging fruit. But we can also talk about the issues that our players' experience once they leave the game. Why is it that we have to fight for health care beyond five years out of the game? Why is it that when players go to file for benefits in terms of disability, they're having to jump through hoops nonstop? Why is it that we're continuing to fight the battle that we're fighting about grass vs. turf?"

This isn't the first time Slater has sounded off on a kickoff rule change. In 2016, he voiced his displeasure after NFL owners voted to move touchbacks from the 20 to the 25-yard line.

The way Slater sees it, these changes have little to do with player safety and everything to do with slowly ridding the game of kickoffs.

"I look at this game, it's been played for over 100 years and it's clear to me that they're making an effort to eradicate this play," Slater said. "They say that they're making the play safer, but the reality is they haven't done a single thing to make the play safer. They haven't changed the rules, they haven't changed the techniques. There's still gonna be collisions that occur if the ball is not fair caught.

"Now, I understand there's some things that are gonna have to be sorted out with the rule and we'll see how that plays itself out. But I'm a big purist when it comes to the game of football and when you start tinkering with things that have been in place for over 100 years -- and I've gone back and I've looked at the rule changes and some of them have been good. I've been a part of eradicating the two-man wedges and things like that. But in this case, I just don't believe that this is truly in the name of player health and safety. ...

"If we're really concerned with player safety and health, let's talk about some of the real issues that are going to impact player safety and health," he added.  Let's not talk about a play where over 99 percent of the time, when the ball is kicked off, is injury free. Those are the facts. Those are the stats. You can go look them up yourself."

The fair-catch kickoff return rule was implemented in college football in 2018. Rich McKay, chairman of the NFL's competition committee, said the league used data from college football to conclude that bringing the rule to the NFL was "the right thing to do."

As of now, the rule change is for the 2023 season only.

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