The Patriots’ contractual stalemate with Matthew Judon has reportedly reached its conclusion — with New England opting to trade away the star pass rusher instead of handing him a hefty new deal.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Patriots are trading Judon to the Atlanta Falcons in exchange for a third-round draft pick. Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz was the first to report that New England was “finalizing” a deal with the Falcons for Judon.
Wednesday’s reported trade marked the end of an extended training camp storyline penned by the Patriots and Judon, who was entering the final year of his contract in 2024.
Although Judon has established himself as one of the top pass-rushers in the league since arriving in Foxborough in 2021, he was set to earn a base salary of $6.5 million this season — well below what some of the other top defensive players in the league are commanding these days.
As such, Judon was vocal about wanting a new contract, a demand that Eliot Wolf and the Patriots were clearly unwilling to budge on.
“You kind of look at everybody around the league and in the building,” Judon said in July. “You see them getting deals done and worked out and its tough to not be jealous or envious or something like that but honestly I have to focus on myself. … I’d pay myself a lot of money and stay around here for a long time, but it’s not up to me.”
Judon’s discontent reached a boiling point during New England’s first day of padded practice on July 29 — with the veteran leaving practice twice after having extended conversations with Jerod Mayo and Patriots Director of Player Personnel Matt Groh.
Jerod Mayo appears to exchange some words with Matthew Judon who is not participating in practice today. Judon seen exiting the field after their conversation 👀 pic.twitter.com/BJvP64tnpS
— NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSBoston) July 29, 2024
While Jerod Mayo noted last weekend that the Patriots were “moving past the Judon thing,” that clearly didn’t mean that New England was going to be the one opening its wallet for the four-time Pro Bowler.
The 6-foot-3 linebacker was often a one-man wrecking crew in New England, racking up 32 sacks and 33 tackles for a loss over 38 games in Foxborough.
However, Judon’s age (turns 32 on Thursday) and the fact that he’s coming off of a season-ending bicep injury in 2023 might have made New England hesitant about doling out a significant pay raise moving forward.
Even though Judon entered this season as arguably New England’s top player, the case could be made that the 2024 Patriots are unlikely to contend for a playoff spot — making a veteran like Judon expendable, especially with a top-100 pick added to New England’s draft capital.
Still, New England’s defense was expected to be one of the few bright spots on this roster — with Judon’s departure and the loss of Christian Bamore for potentially the whole year due to blood clots sapping the team of its most impactful players.
The Patriots will welcome another draft pick added to their board next April, but the writing is on the wall that it’s going to be a long season in Foxborough.
