Jerod Mayo's first training camp as head coach of the New England Patriots is off to a bit of a rocky start. Pro Bowl pass rusher Matthew Judon, who has openly been asking for a new contract as he enters the final year of his current deal with zero guaranteed money, is now holding out in an effort to get his wish. And on Wednesday, he took to the internet to dispel rumors about the situation.
The Athletic's Dianna Russini reported on X, formerly Twitter, that the Pats had offered a revised contract to Judon after he missed training camp on Tuesday, the first time he was a straight-up no-show. Judon responded less than 10 minutes later, saying there was not a new offer and to "not believe the lies."
"Matthew Judon was absent from yesterday’s practice because he seeks a revised contract. Since then the Patriots have made an offer, per source," Russini wrote. "This could help move things in the right direction."
Matthew Judon was absent from yesterday’s practice because he seeks a revised contract. Since then the Patriots have made an offer, per source.
— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) July 31, 2024
This could help move things in the right direction.
"No they haven’t but it makes me look bad again," Judon responded when another X user tagged him in an aggregation of the report. "Don’t believe the lies," he finished.
No they haven’t but it makes me look bad again. Don’t believe the lies
— Matthew Judon (@man_dammn) July 31, 2024
About a half hour afterwards, Russini offered up a new report in which she said New England offered Judon "a few revised contracts" before training camp, seeming to clarify her earlier report.
Matthew Judon was offered a few revised contracts from New England before training camp, they have yet to agree on a re-worked deal, per sources.
— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) July 31, 2024
Judon has spent the last three seasons in New England and two of them were excellent. He posted 28 sacks over the 2021 and 2022 seasons. But the wheels fell off for both team and player in 2023 as the Patriots stumbled to a 4–13 record and Judon appeared in only four games due to injury.
The pass rusher will turn 32 in August and may be better off somewhere other than New England, where the rebuild is in full swing as Mayo gets his feet wet and top draft pick Drake Maye develops into a starting-caliber quarterback. If he's to stick around, though, the Pats need to figure out his contract situation quickly. It's hard enough for a rookie head coach to get his program off the ground, much less when a veteran star is announcing to the world that contract talks are not going well.
It seems Judon wants this to get figured out sooner rather than later. The Patriots would be wise to acquiesce, one way or another.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Matthew Judon Denies Report of Patriots' Contact Offer Amidst Holdout.
