New England Patriots special teams captain Matthew Slater has high praise for one of New England’s newest additions this offseason.
Slater believes linebacker and special-teams player Chris Board will be able to make an impact. Board signed with the Patriots in March, after spending the 2022 season with the Detroit Lions. He has 115 tackles in his career, but he has been able to prove his value as a special teams standout.
Coach Bill Belichick gave him praise last season, before the Patriots took on the Lions in October. The coach went so far as to call him the best special teams player the Patriots would face all year.
Now, Slater is echoing that sentiment, after seeing Board up close in training camp. The veteran indicated several factors that has made Board successful so far.
“Yeah, and I would echo that,” Slater said, via NESN.com’s Dakota Randall. “It’s been awesome. I think his attitude, his professionalism, his desire to do everything perfect every day has been really impressive to me. He’s so detail-oriented when it comes to the kicking game, it’s really no mystery to me now why he’s been so successful.”
It will be interesting to see what kind of impact Board makes both at the linebacker position and on special teams. Belichick loves versatile players that can make an impact right out of the gates.
From the sounds of it, Board is doing exactly that.
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