Patriots
“I feel like we just never sat down and really came to the table as men. I think that’s the biggest point.”
Matthew Judon said on more than one occasion that he would have liked to play in Foxborough for the remainder of his NFL career.
That didn’t happen. The Patriots traded Judon to the Falcons for a third-round pick last week. Judon opened up about the trade on Monday during an interview with NBC Sports Boston’s Kayla Burton.
“It was tough, but I think it was something that the organization needed to do,” Judon told Burton. “It’s a business decision. I told y’all I love the game, it’s just the business of it is what it is and sometimes it’s tough and sometimes it’s not what you want or expect.”
At the end of his time in New England, Judon was vocal about the issues he had with his contract, which has one-year remaining with a base salary of $6.5 million.
He and the Patriots were unable to agree on a new deal. Judon was asked for his perspective on why the two sides were not able to compromise in a manner that would have resulted in him staying long term.
“I don’t know, I feel like we just never sat down and really came to the table as men. I think that’s the biggest point,” Judon said. “It’s like they kind of didn’t know where I was at, we kind of didn’t know where they were at and it was always through text messages and phone calls. We just never sat down and actually talked about it. I think that was the biggest disconnect.”
Judon said he asked the Patriots for a meeting through his agent. He also said during an episode of the Shut Up Marc podcast that he sent the Patriots a contract with terms that he would have been satisfied with.
Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer reported that both the Falcons and the Bears offered a third-round pick for Judon and that Judon was given his choice on where to go.
Judon did not confirm or deny the report when asked about it.
“I’m just happy to be here. It ain’t about where I wanted to go, it ain’t about where I could have went,” Judon said. “It’s about where I am now. I always remember (Ja’Whaun) Bentley. He just be saying be where your feet are. And so, right now, Atlanta is my team and that’s my home city and I’m trying to get up out this hotel so I can go house hunting.”
Atlanta is Judon’s third stop in five years. The Patriots signed him as a free agent from the Ravens ahead of the 2021 season. Now, after three years, he’s heading to Atlanta.
“I feel like I’m like a journeyman now. You start getting bounced around and it’s like where do you retire? At the end of the day, it’s like shoot the last team I’m at, that’s where I’m retiring. Like I always say, I’m just blessed to play this game. I’m just blessed to be given the opportunity to wake up, put some pads on, run around, and be displayed or pictured as a gladiator. That’s what I’m blessed about.”
Judon said he is thankful for Patriots fans’ support over the three seasons that he spent with the team.
“Boston is connected in so many ways,” Judon said. “And they all bleed sports, everybody bleeds sports down there. I embraced it. It’s a sports town. It’s title town.”
“So, to all the fans out there that I no longer get to hang out with or that no longer get to see me on a day-to-day basis, I appreciate y’all for what y’all did for my career first and foremost and then just the encouragement that y’all gave to me.”
“When I got injured or wasn’t playing well, y’all weren’t tearing me apart or when I was playing well y’all had my back. Through thick and thin I was really embraced in the community and embraced by the community and I appreciate it.”
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