In their first offseason after long-time head coach and quasi-general manager Bill Belichick’s departure, the New England Patriots have focused on building from within. Rather than make any splash free agency signings or big trades, they invested in their internal talent by handing out new contracts to several key players.
Not yet on that list is edge defender Matthew Judon, who is entering the final year of his contract. Nonetheless, the Pro Bowler appears to be under no pressure to work something out — all while remaining hopeful in his future as a Patriot.
“I think with the contract stuff, if it happens, it happens,” Judon recently told WEEI’s Mike Kadlick. “If we can get a new contract worked out to where I try to end my career in Boston, that’d be great.”
Judon does have reason to feel optimistic. Just last month, head coach Jerod Mayo mentioned that the Patriots’ goal is to keep him around beyond the upcoming season.
“There’s no question that we want a guy like Judon,” Mayo told reporters at the NFL annual meeting. “Judon was in Baltimore, he happened to be just a great guy and a great fit, a culture add for us. And we want to keep Judon, we want to keep him, but that’s more of a question for Eliot [Wolf]. But those conversations have started. We know that he’s still a premier rusher in this league but as we continue to go forward, we want him to be a piece of the puzzle.”
A former fifth-round draft pick by the Baltimore Ravens, Judon joined the Patriots as a free agent in 2021. Since then, he has appeared in 39 regular season and playoff games for the club and played some of the best football of his career: he has registered 32 total sacks — including a career-high 15.5 in 2022 — and was voted to a pair of Pro Bowls.
Judon was on track for another quality season in 2023, but a biceps injury forced him to end his campaign just four games in. Six months removed from the injury, the 31-year-old is “doing well” and on track to return possibly as early as offseason workouts.
Judon’s comeback will add an established presence to a Patriots’ defense under new leadership. With the aforementioned Jerod Mayo replacing Bill Belichick, and with DeMarcus Covington taking over as defensive coordinator, the unit and the team as a whole will look drastically different.
It’s most disruptive player still remains optimistic about its outlook heading into 2024.
“I think our defense had a lot of good moments throughout the season,” Judon told WEEI. “And I think Mayo is going to be an amazing head coach for us, help us out, and try to right the ship.”
