Matthew Slater makes recruiting pitch to Devin McCourty: "I need you to come back, sir"

BOSTON -- Matthew Slater will be returning to the Patriots to play in his 16th season in 2023. He's hoping he's not the only longtime team captain to push off retirement for one more year.

The 37-year-old Slater sat down with WBZ-TV's Steve Burton and didn't hide his desire for the 35-year-old McCourty to run it back for another year in Foxboro.

"Where do I make my recruiting pitch? Which camera do I look into? Devin McCourty, I need you to come back, sir, please," Slater said. "Michelle, I'm sorry, if you do want him to retire. I apologize. But Devin, come on back. Come on back."

Burton then reminded Slater that McCourty is recovering from shoulder surgery.

"But he's fine. I've been with him. Shoulder looks great, shoulder looks good," a smiling Slater said. "Look, everybody around here is tiptoeing around, [saying], 'You know, we want Devin to make a decision that's best for him.' I want Devin to come back! OK? I want Devin McCourty to come back and play for the Patriots, period. End of statement."

Slater said that he and his wife will continue to "wine and dine" the McCourtys in an effort to continue the recruiting pitch, "and we'll see how that goes."

While there was some real sincerity behind that half-joking message, Slater couldn't end his point without getting a bit more serious.

"In all seriousness, though, I want him to make a decision that is best for him and his family. That's the most important thing," Slater said. "We'll see. These are tough decisions, especially when you get to our stage of life and the stage of our careers, there's a lot of things that factor in. So we'll see how it goes."