The Atlanta Falcons secured Matt Judon in a trade on Wednesday, but not before the pass-rushing specialist garnered heavy interest from multiple teams. The Chicago Bears were another top contender in the Judon sweepstakes, as well as the Houston Texans, according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler.
The Falcons sent the New England Patriots a 2025 third-round pick for the rights to Judon. The 32-year-old is in the final year of his contract and is set to earn $6.5 million this year. He and the Patriots couldn't agree on a new contract and it appeared likely New England would force him to play on the final year of his deal.
No deal being done is a bit of a surprise considering New England has a lot of cap space. According to Spotrac, the Pats have the second-most available cap space at just shy of $41M. The team is in the middle of a huge roster overhaul. Over 40 players are scheduled to be free agents in 2025, so the whole team is in flux.
A torn bicep derailed Judon's 2023 season, but he finished the previous year with a career-high 15.5 sacks. Over his last 38 games, the four-time Pro Bowler has 32 sacks.
It remains to be seen what kind of contract the Falcons will give to Judon. The Cleveland Browns gave Za'Darius Smith a two-year, $23M contract back in March. The Houston Texans paid Denico Autry, a 34-year-old pass-rusher, a two-year, $20M contract. Both players are comparable in talent to Judon.
What the Matt Judon trade brings to the Atlanta Falcons' pass rush
Spending a future third-round pick for an age-30+ pass-rusher is a lot. Unfortunately, the Falcons were lacking a marquee pass-rusher until they added Judon. Atlanta used their second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth-round picks all on players to address their front seven. Their third-round choice out of Washington, Bralen Trice, was recently placed on injured reserve because of a knee injury and will likely be out for the full season.
The Falcons were likely already looking for pass-rush help before Trice's injury. After he went down, they were forced into action to trade for Judon. This closely follows Atlanta putting Rondale Moore on the reserve/injured list due to a knee injury.
Adding Judon makes him and Lorenzo Carter the team's primary pass-rushers, with Arnold Ebiketie and James Williams-Smith rounding out the rotation.
The Falcons travel to Baltimore to face the Ravens in their next preseason matchup on Saturday, August 17, at 12:00 p.m. EST.
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