FOXBORO — Patriots exterior linebacker Matthew Judon stayed on the apply subject for the complete third day of coaching camp.
That’s not precisely noteworthy stuff for many gamers on the Patriots roster, however Judon was restricted in apply Wednesday and Thursday and spent most of Day 2 on a facet subject engaged on conditioning regardless of not beginning camp on the PUP or NFI lists. Red flags have been raised and it was puzzled aloud whether or not he was “holding in,” a preferred apply amongst gamers who’re sad with their contracts however don’t need to face the fines of not reporting to coaching camp. Multiple sources instructed the Herald that Judon was not holding in, and that was evidenced by the truth that the sting defender did take part in group drills Friday.
Judon defined his lack of participation early in coaching camp as a collaborative course of he went by way of with the group. He mentioned he spoke to the coaching employees and coach to verify he may “move fast the whole practice” by engaged on his conditioning.
“Me and the guys talked about it, and we both felt like all ‘right, we can do that for two days,’” Judon mentioned. “Then we can ease into things. I’m in my eighth year. I think y’all know what I do on Sundays, occasionally Saturdays, Thursdays, maybe Mondays. And we’ve seen that. We got 90 players out here right now. And so that was kind of in the talks. We’ve got 90 players. Let’s wait a little bit.”
Judon does deserve a increase, nevertheless, and it wouldn’t be shocking if the Patriots rewarded Judon for his spectacular play by way of the primary two years of his now considerably outdated contract.
Judon wouldn’t get into too many particulars about his remuneration.
“I’m happy to be here, man,” he mentioned. “I’m definitely not going to talk about contracts with y’all. Y’all some snitches. But I’m happy that I’m here. I’m happy that I’m a Patriot. And then wherever that goes, it goes. The market changes every day. We’ve seen it the first day of training camp, a whole bunch of people got paid, the market changes every day. But I will not talk about contracts.”
If the Patriots do give Judon a increase, it may are available one among two other ways.
They may merely give him extra money like they did for cornerback Stephon Gilmore again in 2020 after they added $5 million to his wage. Of the Patriots can do what the Cincinnati Bengals did this week after they prolonged edge defender Trey Hendrickson’s wage by one 12 months, tacking on $21 million in new cash.
“I actually know Trey personally, and I’m excited for him,” Judon mentioned. “I don’t think he’s had a bad year yet. And so for him to get paid and for his organization to realize like, ‘we want to keep this guy around here for longer,’ that’s good for him as a friend and as a brother to me. I’m happy for Trey.”
We’ll see in the event that they lengthen the identical gratitude to Judon. Both gamers signed four-year contracts in 2021 and have outplayed these offers.
Judon made it clear Friday that he desires to retire a Patriot, however he additionally is aware of that may not be his alternative.
“Everything has made it to where I feel like I want to stay here for the rest of my career,” Judon mentioned. “But if that’s not in the cards, that’s not in the cards. I felt like that when I was a rookie. I felt like that my fifth year, but that wasn’t in the cards for me. I don’t get to choose that. I just get to tell y’all how I feel.”
Judon, 30, is presently signed by way of the 2024 season.
Source: www.bostonherald.com