Who Should I Start? Matthew Slater or Jameson Williams

Tuesday, February 20, 12:01 PM

New England Patriots wide receiver and special teams ace Matthew Slater announced on Tuesday that he is officially retiring from professional football. Slater holds the record for most special teams Pro Bowl appearances with 10. "I have given all that I possibly can to respect and honor the game," Slater wrote. "Though it is time for my relationship with the game to evolve, the love I have for it will last a lifetime." The former fifth-round pick by the Patriots in 2008 out of UCLA spent his entire 16-year career in New England and won three Super Bowls with the team and is the franchise's all-time leader in special teams tackles. Slater played in 239 games with the Patriots, second in team history behind only Tom Brady (285). Slater's 25 career postseason games rank ninth-most in NFL history. The 38-year-old was a team captain for 13 straight seasons.

Tuesday, February 27, 3:26 PM

Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell said that wide receiver Jameson Williams is going to push to be a full-time starter in 2024. "By the end of the year, we really felt like he was coming into his own," Campbell said of Williams. The 22-year-old former first-round pick was suspended for the first month of his sophomore season in 2023 due to gambling and ended up finishing the regular season with 24 catches on 42 targets for 354 yards and two touchdowns in 12 games (10 starts). He added a TD on three rushing attempts. Williams steadily saw more time on the field as the season progressed, but he wasn't much of a factor as a deep threat with quarterback Jared Goff preferring underneath routes. As long as Goff is Detroit's starting QB, Williams will likely be a boom/bust fantasy receiver.