Matthew Judon's time with the New England Patriots is over as he heads to the NFC South to join the Atlanta Falcons.
The Patriots moved the star edge rusher in a trade on Wednesday, receiving the Falcons' third-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft as part of the move. Wednesday's tenure marks the end of what was a productive tenure in New England for Judon, who recorded 32 sacks in 38 games with the team.
However, it became increasingly clear that the Patriots wouldn't be able to keep Judon around for much longer. He's been in the midst of a weird contract situation through the offseason and into training camp — holding in, causing a scene at one practice before returning to the practice field again.
So, the good news for the Patriots is that they've finally found a resolution to the matter. Now, let's dish out some trade grades.
Grading the Matthew Judon trade between the Patriots and Falcons
Judon's contract situation became an unnecessary cloud over the team in the first few weeks of training camp. The star edge rusher was clearly forcing the issue between his actions during his hold-in and on social media, making it obvious that he at least wanted his $6.5 million base salary for the upcoming season adjusted or to receive an extension.
When it became evident that Judon was unlikely to play this season without either of those things happening, the best resolution to this for the Patriots was trading the edge rusher for good draft capital. They did just that, landing a Day 2 pick from the Falcons in the move for Judon.
New England's ability to land a third-round selection in next year's draft for Judon also seemed to be a positive surprise, too. Multiple executives told NBC Sports Boston's Phil Perry that they were “shocked” the Patriots were able to receive a pick that high for Judon. It's also a bit of a surprise considering the Philadelphia Eagles got a 2026 third-round pick for a slightly better and slightly younger Haason Reddick in April.
The argument could be made that the Patriots gave up their best player in Wednesday's trade, hampering their ability to win in 2024. But the main question is: How much of a difference would Judon have made in 2024? Sure, he was injured in 2023 and the Patriots could feel his absence as a pass rusher. But New England had a top-five defense and only won four games in 2023.
Fast forward a year and there isn't much optimism that the Patriots would be markedly better even if Judon was still in Foxborough. The offense has a bunch of new faces, though the early returns aren't promising. They got owned during their joint practice with the Eagles on offense as it seems more and more likely that the official start of the Drake Maye era won't happen anytime soon, if at all this season. Additionally, Christian Barmore's scary blood clot situation lowered the ceiling for this team even more in 2024.
With Judon entering the final year of his contract, why would you keep him around when it looks like the next great Patriots team won't be here until at least 2025, but likely much later? The only strong reason to keep him around was due to his veteran presence. But as he turns 32 and is in the final year of his contract, how much of an impact would his presence have made when he likely would've only been here for one more year?
So, it's good to see that the Patriots are turning the page and still rebuilding. They aren't going to be good in 2024, but they have to take their lumps first before becoming a contender again. Getting a top-100 pick out of the situation certainly helps, the only question is how good of a pick could they have gotten had they moved Judon sooner.
As for the Falcons, their motivation for this deal is obvious. They ignored improving their edge rush during the draft, notably taking Michael Penix Jr. with the eighth overall pick.
Trading a third-round selection for a 32-year-old coming off a season-ending injury with one more year left on his contract might be a rich price. However, it was unlikely that the Falcons would be able to get a pass rusher as productive as Judon this close to the season. If he keeps up the production he had in New England with Atlanta, the Falcons might have the most complete roster in the NFC South. Winning the division would certainly make this deal worth it for a team that hasn't been in the postseason since 2017.
Patriots trade grade: A-
Falcons trade grade: B
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