Patriots were reportedly ‘just sick of’ Matthew Judon prior to trade

There may have been more to Matthew Judon’s departure from the Patriots than his contract situation, according to Sports Illustrated reporter Albert Breer.

Breer, speaking on “Boston Sports Tonight” with Michael Felger, said the star linebacker Judon was “not as well-liked” by the Patriots front office as many might have thought.

“That was really part of it at the end, was that they were just sick of him,” Breer said. “They felt like there was the public-facing Judon, and then there was Judon behind the scenes.”

Judon behind the scenes, Breer said, had become a “little bit of an operator,” and his act had “worn thin” with people inside in the building.

“It’s not saying he’s a bad guy,” Breer said. “But there was some of this again, like, this sort of cheerleader stuff on social media, that a lot of people in the organization would roll their eyes at.”

When Judon “became a problem” this summer, the Patriots’ mind-set shifted to what they could do to move him off the roster. As they try to build a new program, Breer said, they didn’t want Judon’s situation “hovering” over them.

Breer said the Patriots asked Judon whether he wanted to go to Atlanta or Chicago, and he chose the Falcons. New England traded him for a 2025 third-round pick.