Matthew Judon has voiced his frustrations with his contract, while also expressing his desire to remain with the New England Patriots.
When Judon had contract issues last year, former coach Bill Belichick did the classic take from the future to make them happy now approach with the four-time Pro Bowl linebacker.
The team gave him a bump from $2 million to $14 million in guaranteed money.
However, that tactic of moving money only makes the problem worse in the future, and Patriots executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf is now stuck trying to clean it up. Usually, if a player of Judon’s caliber is coming up on the end of his deal and he wants more money, an extension would either get done, or the player would walk.
Now, however, we are in contract limbo and unaware of what is to come, while Judon has one year left and no guaranteed salary for the year.
I wanted to paint a picture of what a new deal could look like, as we are likely coming to the turning point here for Judon and the Patriots with padded practices starting soon.
To start, I took a look at the top pass-rushers in terms of production over the past five seasons. Matthew Judon ranks 11th in sacks and top-16 in pressure rate generated. His current contract pays him as the 27th-highest edge rusher in the NFL.
To fix that, I figured a contract in the top 14 would suffice, as it would moderately increase his cap figure and still keep him reasonable.
However, there are a couple of things that could lower his contract number: his age and the fact he is coming off a serious injury. If the Patriots wish to continue the good vibes signal they are sending to their hardest workers and top performers, they will not consider those factors.
And I don’t think they will.
I believe an extension of two years for $44 million with $24 million fully guaranteed would get the job done. This would put Judon in the top 14 for edge rushers, while adding new money to the deal and essentially keeping him in New England for this season.
The guarantees would make it so all of the first year and only $2 million would be guaranteed for the second year.
New England could lean into this as the weeks roll by in camp and they realize how important Judon is to their team. Paying him a top contract while rebuilding is not detrimental.
It only helps the other players see that their work won’t go underappreciated (in terms of money) like it did under Belichick.