Matthew Slater Explains How Patriots Will Handle Josh Gordon Return

The New England Patriots are more than excited to have Josh Gordon back. The NFL reinstated the receiver, and he is free to join the Patriots. When it comes to excitement, Matthew Slater shared his thoughts on the troubled player.

Slater spoke after the Patriots 22-17 win over the Titans, and said he and his teammates were happy to have Gordon back.

“We are excited,” Slater told reporters. “I’ll say this: Football is No. 2. We want to see him first and foremost doing well as an individual, doing well as a man, and we want to support him however we can. We’re just going to take this one day at a time, which is all any of us can do. And we’ll see what tomorrow brings and then we’ll let the day after that worry about it when it comes around.” 

The team will welcome Gordon with “a lot of hugs.”

“A lot of smiles,” Slater said. “It will definitely be good to see him.” 

This is a year of excitement for Slater. He was absolutely excited to hear that Bill Belichick wants him back.

“I was really excited to hear from Bill [Belichick] that they wanted me part of the team moving forward. I’m so thankful that the Patriots saw fit to continue to make an investment in me as a player and as a leader for our team,” Slater told Mike Reiss. “I’m so glad I’ve been able to be here the entirety of my career; it really means a lot to me that I’ve been able to be in one place and be a part of such a great organization.

“The years prior to this past one were challenging for me personally, dealing with injuries and having to battle through that. A lot of questions swirl around when you’re an older guy that gets hurt as to whether or not you can ever get yourself healthy again,” he added. “So I’m just thankful the good Lord gave me health this year and was able to be out there every practice and every game with my teammates and show that I can still play this game at a pretty decent level, which I feel I can still do.”