The New England Patriots will be without their best special teams player and one of their captains Sunday night for the first time in six years.
Special teams ace Matthew Slater is inactive for the Patriots' Week 16 game against the Broncos in Denver. Slater was listed as questionable with a hamstring issue on Friday's injury report. He suffered the injury in last week's loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
It will be the first game Slater has missed since 2017, and just the 18th game he's missed during his 16-year career. This absence snaps Slater's streak of 100 consecutive games played.
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The loss of Slater is particularly tough for the Patriots in this matchup because Broncos wide receiver Marvin Mims is one of the league's top kick returners.
It's been a brutal season of injuries for the Patriots.
In addition to Slater, they also will be without running back Rhamondre Stevenson and veteran tight end Hunter Henry on Sunday. It will be the first game Henry has missed since he joined the Patriots as a free agent in March of 2021.