Heading into training camp, the New England Patriots still have one key contract situation to resolve with a crucial player.
Veteran linebacker Matthew Judon is entering the final year of his contract, set to earn just $6.5 million in base salary, which is below his market value. Last spring, the club restructured his contract after Judon staged a “hold-in,” a tactic he has stated he does not plan to repeat this time.
Judon fully participated in the recent mandatory minicamps, and during a radio appearance with Rich Shertenlieb on WZLX, he hinted that an agreement might be close. “We ain’t far apart, you feel me?” he remarked during the interview.
“I know Judon has said the right things—we talked about it on the last podcast. He went on Rich’s [Shertenlieb] show and basically said he wasn’t going to do what he did last year,” said Bedard. “I have reason to believe that will not be true. But I will say that there are rumblings about a couple of big contract issues with the Patriots, stemming from Christian Barmore’s deal.”
Bedard believes Barmore’s contract has shifted the landscape, complicating the situations of both Judon and Davon Godchaux, making it difficult to agree on their values. This complexity was hinted at by Jerod Mayo last week when discussing player negotiations.
“There are guys that, obviously, want to redo contracts and stuff like that. And not just DG; it’s a bunch of guys that want to do those things,” said Mayo. “And we’re working through it. Eliot [Wolfe] and his staff do a great job handling that. I don’t get into player contracts.”
“What I will say is, one thing I’ve learned is sometimes the value the team has on a person is a little bit different than the value the market has on a person. These are just things I’m learning, guys. Like I told you before, I’m green, but I’m learning. I’m evolving, and these are the conversations that have to be had.”
One positive takeaway from this spring has been the emergence of Keion White on the other side of the ball. Mayo previously praised White during the spring, and he has made some noise early on as we head into this preseason.
“Almost immediately from the get-go in OTAs, seeing him out there, standing up in the two-point stance, it’s extremely exciting,” said Bedard about Keion White. “His development, even without pads, is noticeable. You can see the impact and his physicality. I just love the idea of him standing up. When he was drafted, I had a hard time picturing exactly where he would play because he was a tweener, kind of like Deatrich Wise’s understudy. But he gained more and more playing time last year. I think his athletic ability is his strength, and standing him up and using him like that can make him really impactful. I’m really excited to see what he can do.”
Bedard continued, “I also think the offshoot of that is, if Keion White is now an edge player and they already have Anfernee Jennings and Josh Uche, and if Matthew Judon is going to have an issue with his contract, does that make Matthew Judon expendable? I think that’s a very real possibility at this point.”
We’ll see how things play out. Judon had racked up four sacks, nine quarterback hits, and a safety in just four games last season before suffering a season-ending elbow injury against Dallas in Week 4.
