When New England Patriots star edge rusher Matthew Judon reported to training camp last week, he confirmed that he is unhappy with his current contract. Still, Judon said he would participate in practice and play despite that dissatisfaction.
However, his feelings about the issue may have changed this week. Judon was not uniform when the Patriots took the field for New England's first padded camp practice. Judon arrived early, as he typically tends to do, but sat off to the side while New England worked through its special teams session. Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo spoke with his star defender for an extended period of time before both eventually made their way over to individual drills.
Soon after that, Judon was around for the start of practice but remained to the side in sweatpants and a sweatshirt and played catch with a few fans, per NBC Sports' Phil Perry.
Later in the practice, Judon returned to the field and was seen “animatedly” talking to Patriots executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf and director of player personnel Matt Groh. He left the field after that discussion and did not return.
This is another twist in the ongoing contract saga between Judon and the Patriots. Judon's refusal to practice follows his suggestion that he wouldn't hold out by sitting out practice sessions despite wanting a new deal.
“I signed the deal; there's my signature on it, so I've got to play on it,” Judon said. “Would I like to? No. Do I think that's my value? No. But again, that's not up to me.”
What will the Patriots do about Matthew Judon?
Although this is a new step in this saga, it isn't the first time Judon has done something like this. Judon skipped out on Patriots camp practices last summer before getting a revised deal for the 2023 season. Judon is drastically underpaid relative to the market, with a base salary of $6.5 million this season and incentives worth $1 million.
So, Judon pulling this stunt for a second year in a row shouldn't come as a total surprise to New England. But these negotiations get even trickier, considering Judon is returning to the field after an injury. Judon finished the 2023 season with 13 tackles, with four sacks. But Judon played in only four games for New England, sidelined with a bicep injury.
But since he had 28 sacks in his first two seasons with the Patriots, if Judon is healthy, he can more reasonably demand a higher salary. The coming days will show whether he’s taking a similar approach to the rest of this year’s camp. But, for now, it looks like this contract saga is far from over.
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