An NFL insider shared his prediction on how the New England Patriots and Matthew Judon contract saga will likely end.
And it doesn’t sound like things will end positively for Judon.
Judon and his contract troubles have been a storyline throughout training camp. The Patriots reportedly made the four-time Pro Bowl linebacker a contract offer this summer, but it got turned down.
Judon had 13 tackles and four sacks in three games in 2023, before going down with a season-ending biceps injury. He has been a big part of the Patriots’ pass-rushing attack since his arrival to New England in 2021.
It doesn’t sound like the Patriots are budging from their initial offer to the linebacker. Insider Jeff Darlington spoke on ESPN’s “NFL Live” and offered some more insight on the situation.
“I can tell you when it comes to Judon, we are at a point where the Patriots are at least listening to trade offers,” said Darlington, as transcribed by Bleacher Report’s Paul Kasabian. “They are lightly shopping him, making clear to the NFL, ‘hey, we’re hear to listen if you do want to trade for him.’ But I can tell you also they really haven’t gotten much in terms of the type of interest that would really consummate any kind of deal.
“I can also tell you this, the Patriots have not upped or re-offered anything to Judon since their initial offer before training camp. So it doesn’t feel necessarily like the level of urgency is here to get him back to practice. To me, there’s nothing imminent. Quite frankly, outside of a team stepping up and making a trade offer, it really does feel like he will likely have to play on this $6.5 million deal this season.”
This certainly isn’t the best development, as the Patriots and Judon look to find some form of middle ground.
One has to wonder how this will ultimately play out with the start of the NFL season less than a month away. So far, it looks like things are at a standstill.