Patriots Free Agents 2012: Matthew Slater

Over the next two weeks, we'll be looking at each Patriots free agent and projecting whether or not they will re-sign with the Patriots this offseason;

Matthew Slater

Age: 26

Position: Wide receiver / safety / special teams

Status: Unrestricted Free Agent

2011 Stats: 16 games played; 3 games started; 24 tackles; 1 reception, 46 yards

Overview: Matthew Slater, the jack-of-all-trades player for the Patriots, who made the Pro Bowl in 2011 for his work on special teams, will more than likely be resigned by the Patriots, as I believe the team values him more than any other team will. Of course, if some team hands him a big offer, the Patriots probably won't match, but I don't see that happening. Slater is a great leader, great special teams guy, and is the type of versatile player all coaches would like to have in their locker room. He'll probably never put up big stats, but the 2008 5th round pick out of UCLA has become rather indispensable for the Pats.

Prediction: Re-signs on 4 year, $6.5 million deal