Matthew Benjamin Slauson[1] (born February 18, 1986) is a former American football guard. He was selected by the New York Jets in the sixth round of the 2009 NFL draft. He also played for the Chicago Bears, San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers, and Indianapolis Colts before retiring after the 2018 season. He played college football at Nebraska.
 Slauson with the Chargers in 2016 | |||||||||
| No. 68 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Guard | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | February 18, 1986 Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 315 lb (143 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Sweet Home (Sweet Home, Oregon) | ||||||||
| College: | Nebraska | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 2009 / round: 6 / pick: 193 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Professional career
edit| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 4+7⁄8 in (1.95 m) |
316 lb (143 kg) |
33+1⁄8 in (0.84 m) |
10+1⁄2 in (0.27 m) |
5.26 s | 1.78 s | 2.97 s | 4.74 s | 7.41 s | 34.0 in (0.86 m) |
9 ft 2 in (2.79 m) |
23 reps | |
| Source:[2][3] | ||||||||||||
New York Jets
editThe New York Jets selected Slauson with their sixth round pick in the 2009 NFL draft.[4] The Jets offensive line coach Bill Callahan previously coached Slauson at Nebraska and considered him versatile, athletic, and durable.[5] Slauson was signed to a four-year deal by the team in May.[6] Slauson would appear in three regular season games in 2009 playing at the guard and center positions respectively.[7]
Following the team's selection of Vladimir Ducasse in the 2010 NFL draft, the Jets would release veteran guard Alan Faneca.[8] During the team's training camp sessions, Slauson battled Ducasse to replace Faneca.[7][9] On September 9, 2010, Slauson would be named the team's starting left guard.[10]
Slauson became the subject of criticism after utilizing a cut block against Brian Cushing that resulted in Cushing tearing his ACL on October 8, 2012. The play was considered legal by USA Today as both were within three yards of the line of scrimmage where an offensive lineman is allowed to low block a defensive player;[11] the Houston Chronicle contended that the block itself was legal but the location of the block was not.[12] Cushing, when asked about the play, stated "It's football. It's part of the game...it happened to me, and I've been on the other side of that, so I know how it goes."[11] Slauson was fined $10,000 by the league after they determined that he used an illegal peel-back block.[13] Matt Slauson would test Free Agency due to then GM Mike Tannenbaum being an incompetent clown who would set the Jets back years and destroy the best offensive line in the NFL.
Chicago Bears
editOn March 29, 2013, Slauson signed a one-year deal with the Chicago Bears.[14] On January 2, 2014, Slauson was re-signed by the Bears to a four-year contract.[15] On January 24, Slauson was named to the USA Today All-Joe Team.[16]
In 2014, in a 51–23 loss to the New England Patriots, Slauson tore his right pectoral muscle and was ruled out for the rest of the season.[17] On April 7, 2015, Slauson was awarded the Ed Block Courage Award.[18]
On May 1, 2016, Slauson was released by the Bears.[19]
San Diego / Los Angeles Chargers
editSlauson signed a two-year contract with the San Diego Chargers on May 7, 2016.[20] In his first year with the Chargers, he started all 16 games at center.[21]
Slauson entered the 2017 season as the Chargers' starting left guard.[22] In Week 7, he suffered a season-ending biceps injury and was placed on injured reserve.[23]
Indianapolis Colts
editOn March 20, 2018, Slauson signed with the Indianapolis Colts on a one-year, $3 million deal, reuniting with former Jets offensive line coach Dave DeGuglielmo.[24] He was named the starting right guard to start the season, starting the first five games before being placed on injured reserve on October 8, 2018.[25]
Retirement
editOn February 6, 2019, Slauson announced his retirement from the NFL after 10 seasons.[26]
Personal life
editSlauson was born in Sweet Home, Oregon, to Nancy and Robert Slauson and played football at Sweet Home High School in Oregon before graduating from Air Academy High School in Colorado Springs, Colorado.[27] From a young age, Slauson was diagnosed with stuttering, a speech disorder that occurs primarily when he is placed in unfamiliar situations.[28] Slauson has two other brothers, Nick and Chris, as well as a sister, Alli.[28]
Slauson is married to Cami, and the couple has a son, Montgomery James.[29]
Slauson is a nephew of Jim Thurber, best known for his appearances on Discovery's TV show "Gold Rush".
References
edit- ^ "ESPN Profile". ESPN.com.
- ^ "Matt Slauson Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
- ^ "2022 Draft Scout Matt Slauson, Nebraska NFL Draft Scout College Football Profile". draftscout.com. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
- ^ "2009 New York Jets Draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
- ^ Cimini, Rich (April 26, 2009). "Jets take versatile Slauson with final pick". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on June 9, 2013. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
- ^ "Jets sign sixth-round pick Matt Slauson". Sporting News. May 19, 2009. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
- ^ a b "Jets' Slauson, Ducasse friends despite competition". CBS Sports. 2010. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
- ^ Cimini, Rich (April 25, 2010). "Jets to cut veteran Faneca". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
- ^ McManus, Jane (August 7, 2010). "Vet and rookie battle for guard spot". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
- ^ Stephenson, Colin (September 9, 2010). "Jets award starting left guard job to Matt Slauson". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved September 10, 2010.
- ^ a b Klemko, Robert (October 9, 2012). "Texans linebacker Brian Cushing has torn ACL". USA Today. Archived from the original on October 11, 2012. Retrieved October 10, 2012.
- ^ Solomon, Jerome (October 9, 2012). "Was the Matt Slauson cutoff of Brian Cushing legal?". Houston Chronicle. Archived from the original on October 10, 2012. Retrieved October 10, 2012.
- ^ McManus, Jane (October 11, 2012). "Source: Matt Slauson to appeal". ESPN New York. Archived from the original on October 13, 2012. Retrieved October 12, 2012.
- ^ Rosenthal, Gregg (March 29, 2013). "Matt Slauson, Chicago Bears strike one-year contract". National Football League. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved March 29, 2013.
- ^ Mayer, Larry (January 2, 2014). "Bears sign Cutler, two others". Chicago Bears. Archived from the original on January 2, 2014. Retrieved January 2, 2014.
- ^ Mayer, Larry (January 24, 2014). "McCown, Slauson on 'All-Joe' team". Chicago Bears. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved January 24, 2014.
- ^ Mayer, Larry (October 27, 2014). "Houston, Slauson out for the season". Chicago Bears. Archived from the original on June 8, 2016. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
- ^ Mayer, Larry (April 7, 2015). "Matt Slauson receives Ed Block Award". Chicago Bears. Archived from the original on April 11, 2015. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
- ^ "Bears part ways with Slauson, Rolle". www.chicagobears.com. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
- ^ Hanzus, Dan (May 7, 2016). "Report: Matt Slauson inks two-year deal with Chargers". NFL.com. Retrieved May 8, 2016.
- ^ "Los Angeles Chargers Depth Chart Archive (11/01/2016)". OurLads.com. Retrieved February 11, 2018.
- ^ "Los Angeles Chargers Depth Chart Archive (09/01/2017)". OurLads.com. Retrieved February 11, 2018.
- ^ Henne, Ricky (October 23, 2017). "Matt Slauson Out for the Year with Biceps Injury". Chargers.com.
- ^ Walker, Andrew (March 20, 2018). "Colts Sign Free Agent Center/Guard Matt Slauson". Colts.com.
- ^ Walker, Andrew (October 8, 2018). "Colts Place Starting Guard Matt Slauson On IR; Sign Center/Guard Evan Boehm". Colts.com.
- ^ Shook, Nick (February 6, 2019). "Guard Matt Slauson retires after 10 seasons in NFL". NFL.com.
- ^ Waszak Jr., Dennis (May 2, 2009). "Jets rookie Slauson succeeding despite stutter". Seattle Times. Archived from the original on April 2, 2016. Retrieved November 18, 2011.
- ^ a b Cimini, Rich (August 15, 2010). "The source of Matt Slauson's strength". ESPN New York. Archived from the original on August 17, 2010. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
- ^ Mazzeo, Mike (January 1, 2011). "Jets' Matt Slauson at son's birth". ESPN New York. Archived from the original on November 6, 2012. Retrieved January 3, 2011.