New England Patriots captain Matthew Slater, whose 10 Pro Bowl berths is an NFL record for a special teams player, criticized the league for last week's rule change that allows fair catches on kickoffs.

The NFL has cited player safety as a primary reason for the change.

"I just don't believe this is truly in the name of player health and safety. What I do believe is, 'We [the NFL] want to portray ourselves a certain way to the public that says we care about the players,'" Slater said.

"But I can give you a long list of examples where the league and powers that be do not act in the best interest of the players."

Slater referenced adding Thursday night football, choosing synthetic turf over natural grass fields, retirees fighting for health care beyond five years after retirement, and players "having to jump through hoops" for disability benefits among his examples.

"I understand we want to reduce head injuries and things of that nature, but we don't always act as if player health and safety is paramount," he said. "If we're really concerned with player safety and health, let's talk about some of the real issues. Let's not talk about a play, when [a high percentage of the time] the ball is kicked off, it's injury-free."