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When the Patriots agreed to trade Matthew Judon to the Falcons for a third-round pick last week, there were eyebrows raised around the league—on both sides, really. Some felt Atlanta did well to address an enormous gap in its otherwise promising defense, especially this late in the offseason. It’s not often a player of Judon’s ability changes addresses just weeks before the season kicks off.
On the flip side though, is the Patriots: They’re a young, rebuilding team with a 32-year-old linebacker who was in the final year of his contract, one the team did not want to extend or bolster. Judon is just two years removed from a 15.5-sack performance, the best of his career, and was playing well last year before he tore his biceps and missed the final 13 games.
Still, at his age and with obviously little leverage, the fact that the Patriots were able to create a bidding war—Chicago was also involved—for Judon helped them land a third-rounder for Judon. That is a pretty sizable return, given the overall situation. That, in itself, might have been enough to spur the Patriots to deal away Judon.
Ah, but there was more to the deal, according to SI.com NFL insider Albert Breer.
Matt Judon Was ‘A Little Bit of an Operator’
In an appearance with Mike Felger via NBC Sports Boston, Breer reported that the Patriots were “sick of” Judon, who was in the midst of a training camp hold-in over his contract for the second straight year.
“There was a little bit more to the Judon trade than just the contract situation.”
@AlbertBreer gives insight into the Matthew Judon trade, and why in the end the Patriots were ‘just sick of him.’
“Judon was not as well-liked by the coaches and front-office people as you might have thought,” Breer reported. “That was really part of it at the end, was that they were just sick of him. They felt like there was the public-facing Judon and the Judon behind the scenes. Judon behind the scenes had become a little bit of an operator and his act had worn thing with people inside the building.”
The Patriots are in the midst of an overhaul after a miserable 4-13 season, having dumped coach Bill Belichick and his staff for rookie head coach and popular former star player Jerod Mayo. They got rid of quarterback Mac Jones, too, and replaced him with No. 3 overall pick Drake Maye.
Mayo and VP of personnel Eliot Wolf have tried to wipe clean the Patriots’ slate, which was toxic by the end of 2023. Dumping Judon, it seems, was part of that.
Patriots Made Signing in 2021
Judon was a two-time Pro Bowler with the Ravens before he signed as a free agent with the Patriots in 2021. His role grew dramatically in New England, and he recorded 32 sacks in 38 games. Judon had also become popular in the community.
But the notion that he was a different guy behind the scenes has only just emerged—something that will often come from a team only after it gets rid of a popular and productive player. When Breer described some of Judon’s supposed offenses, there was nothing specifically outrageous.
“It’s not that he’s a bad guy, but there was some of this sort of cheerleader stuff on social media that a lot of people in the organization would roll their eyes at,” Breer said. “And then when he became a problem this summer, it was, what do we do to move him off the roster now, because we’re trying to build a new program and we don’t want this hovering over us.
“I think there was a little more to the Judon trade than just the contract situation.”
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