Welcome to first and 10, a roundup of all the (mostly) Patriots-related news you need to start your day:
--Told this story a few times, but in the context of Matthew Slater re-signing on Tuesday (after a brief flirtation with the Steelers), it bears repeating: Slater didn't play a lot of snaps this past season, at least when you compare it to his workload in previous years. Nagged by injury, he wasn't out on the field early in 2017 as much as he and the rest of the team would probably have liked him to be. So there were some eyebrows raised around the league when it was revealed he made the Pro Bowl. In a game near the end of the regular-season, two out-of-town writers were in the Gillette Stadium press box, and were wondering aloud why Slater was a Pro Bowler despite the fact that he played so few snaps compared to some of the other guys up for the honor. He then proceeds to down two punts inside the opponents' 10. After the second one, one of the writers turns to the other and says, "Oh, that's why."
--One more Slater story, from special teams coach Joe Judge, on what makes Slater so good. “I tell you what stands out about Matt to me: Matt takes notes in every meeting like he’s never heard it before,” Judge told me in the days before the Super Bowl. “He sits in the front row with his eyes wide open, waiting to hear any detail he can hear that will help him. He’s one of the first in the building and one of the last to leave. It’s everything you don’t see that makes what you do see remarkable. He’s tremendous. He’s great to be around. I value every day I get to coach him.”
–So as of Wednesday morning, here’s a look at the Patriots’ official offseason tote board:
ADDS/ACQUISITIONS
NT Danny Shelton (via trade)
CB Jason McCourty (via trade)
RB Jeremy Hill
DE Adrian Clayborn
OL Matt Tobin
WR/KR Cordarrelle Patterson (via trade)
RETURNEES
RB Rex Burkhead
ST/RB Brandon Bolden
ST/DB Brandon King
ST Nate Ebner
ST Matthew Slater
VISITS
TE Asante Cleveland
LB Jonathan Casillas
CB Delvin Breaux
*OL Matt Tobin
*DE Adrian Clayborn
*RB Jeremy Hill
(* denotes signed with team)
LOSSES
WR Danny Amendola (Miami)
CB Malcolm Butler (Tennessee)
RB Dion Lewis (Tennessee)
OT Nate Solder (New York Giants)
CB/ST Johnson Bademosi (Houston)
UNSIGNED
OT Cameron Fleming
OT LaAdrian Waddle
LB James Harrison
LB Marquis Flowers
--We have a conference call with Adrian Clayborn set for 1 p.m. on Wednesday.
--Wednesday's Pro Day schedule: Boston College, Cincinnati, UConn, Georgia, Pitt, USC. According to those in attendance, Bill Belichick was the only head coach at South Carolina Pro Day on Tuesday. (If I had to guess, I'd put good odds on him showing up at Georgia on Wednesday.) Anyway, it sounds like he spent some more quality time with tight end Hayden Hurst.
Hayden Hurst says he‘s met w/ Bill Belichick twice - once in Indy at the combine & then again yesterday. Asked what those talks w/ BB was like & he replied, “At first you walk into the room & you’re like, ‘I’ve seen him on TV.’ But he’s a football guy. He likes talking football.” pic.twitter.com/XDzTCczmfV
— Mike Uva (@Mike_Uva) March 20, 2018
.@GamecockFB head @CoachWMuschamp talking it up with Patriots head coach Bill Belichick at Carolina Pro Day. @wachfox pic.twitter.com/sWVfOLQHsH
— Mike Uva (@Mike_Uva) March 20, 2018