After weeks of failed contract negotiations, the New England Patriots have finally decided to trade four-time Pro Bowl defensive end Matthew Judon to the Atlanta Falcons in exchange for a 3rd Round Pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Given the state that both the Patriots and Falcons find themselves in entering the 2024 season — New England is fully invested in a rebuild, while the Falcons are eyeing a deep run in the Playoffs — the trade makes perfect sense for both sides.
Apparently, the trade works for Matthew Judon too. The 31-year-old eight-year veteran immediately took to social media to shows fans of the Dirty Birds that he was already checking Google Maps to see how far it was to Mercedes-Benz Stadium, home of the Atlanta Falcons.
Judon signed a four-year deal worth $56 million with the Patriots in March 2021, and in his first two seasons, he looked like a bargain at the price the Patriots got him for. Judon set career highs in sacks in back-to-back seasons before suffering a torn bicep in a Week 4 loss at Dallas last year, ending his four season streak of being named to the Pro Bowl.
With just one year left on his current contract, Matthew Judon had been limited in Patriots training camp as he and the Pats worked to find middle ground on a new deal. Now, Judon and the Falcons have similar plans, shooting to get a long-term deal done before the regular season begins, according to ESPN's Marc Raimondi.
Matthew Judon provides Falcons defense with pass rushing juice
Most experts around the league believed that the Atlanta Falcons may be in business for one of the NFL Draft's top edge rushers with the 8th pick in this past year's draft. The Falcons stunned everybody when they selected Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. instead. The Falcons did also take Penix's Washington teammate Bralen Trice with the 74th overall pick, but a 3rd round rookie linebacker can't be counted on to be the primary pass rusher of a team with Super Bowl aspirations.
Matthew Judon will be heading to an Atlanta Falcons defense that has been in need of a consistent pass rush presence for nearly a decade. The last time that the Falcons weren't outside the top twenty in sacks at the end of the year was in 2017.
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