Pass rusher Matt Judon‘s pursuit of a new contract led to his trade from New England to Atlanta. However, he doesn’t intend to push as hard for a new deal with his new team.
During his first press conference with the Falcons, Judon was asked about his contract desires. The veteran indicated that he would prioritize performing on the field before seeking a new contract.
“The Atlanta Falcons know nothing about me as a football player, as a man, or that stuff,” Judon said. “They only know my previous resume. I can’t really demand or ask for anything I haven’t worked for, and that’s where I’ve been my whole life. I’m gonna work for it.”
While Judon might not have intended to directly compare himself to New York Jets edge rusher Haason Reddick, it’s difficult to avoid the connection. Both veteran Pro Bowlers sought new contracts this offseason and were eventually traded before securing them. Reddick has held out of training camp and preseason, resulting in fines, while Judon reported to New England, briefly held out, was traded to Atlanta, and chose not to make a similar stand.
There’s no one right way to handle a contract dispute.
It’s also worth noting that in June, Judon expressed his willingness to play out his contract and not cause any issues in New England. However, things took a turn during training camp.
After the Patriots restructured his contract last offseason, Judon is entering the final year of his deal with a base salary of $6.5 million.
The four-time Pro Bowl pass rusher is coming off a season where he played just four games before a torn bicep ended his year. Before the injury, he had four sacks in those four games. In the previous two seasons with New England, he had recorded 12.5 and 15.5 sacks, respectively.
He now joins a Falcons defense that has long been searching for a dominant pass rusher to create chaos off the edge.
The 32-year-old former Raven and Patriot has already embraced the culture that Raheem Morris is building in Atlanta.
“Coming here – and I didn’t know it before I got in the building – but you see the culture,” Judon said. “You see how Ra interacts with the players and how the players interact with each other. Even though we compete, if somebody is down, people aren’t taking advantage, and there aren’t too many fights – maybe because it’s later in training camp, I’m not sure. But you can see the locker room is stable. … People are mixed in different groups; it’s not just the DBs sticking together. There’s no cliquey behavior; everyone is connected in some way.”
https://www.nfl.com/news/matthew-judon-not-pushing-new-contract-in-atl-i-can-t-really-demand-or-ask-for-anything-i-haven-t-worked-for
