Patriots’ Star Defender Reveals Bad News About Contract

Matthew Judon feels sort of out of place on the New England Patriots.

The star edge rusher is entering the final year of his deal, but with Judon turning 32 years old next month, he doesn’t really fit the rebuilding Patriots’ timeline.

As a result, many have speculated that New England could trade Judon, and there are very few who actually seem to think there is a chance of the veteran landing an extension.

Well, Judon kind of confirmed that himself in a social media post on Wednesday.

To Judon’s credit, he was present at the Patriots’ mandatory minicamp. However, it remains to be seen if Judon’s attitude changes as training camp approaches.

Trading Matthew Judon may be best for both sides

Let’s face it: New England is not contending for anything in 2024.

The Pats went 4-13 last season and are entering a new era with a new coach and a new decision-maker in the front office. They aren’t going to suddenly transform into a winning team overnight.

So then what is the point of Judon sticking around?

The Patriots almost certainly are not going to re-sign Judon when he hits free agency next March, and it seems pretty obvious that they aren’t going to extend him.

For that reason, New England should just trade Judon now.

The four-time Pro Bowler should absolutely have some value, even though he only played in four games during the 2023 campaign due to a torn biceps that ended his season.

In the preceding two years, Judon racked up double-digit sacks both times, topping out at 15.5 sacks in 2022.

The Grand Valley State product began his career with the Baltimore Ravens and spent five years there before ultimately signing with the Patriots in 2021.

He made a couple of trips to the Pro Bowl with the Ravens, with his best season in Baltimore coming in 2019 when he rattled off 54 tackles, 9.5 sacks and four forced fumbles.

However, Judon didn’t really truly break out until he arrived in Foxborough, where he racked up 12.5 sacks in his debut campaign with the Pats.

There are plenty of teams in need of an elite pass rusher, and Judon definitely brings that to the table. He remained productive in limited action last year, logging 13 tackles and four sacks.

We’ll see if there are any more developments between Judon and the Patriots as the summer progresses.

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