Bill Belichick is not a fan of the Patriots-Falcons trade for Matthew Judon

One of the least fun and most problematic parts of the Patriots' 2024 offseason was the drama surrounding Matthew Judon and whether the team would give him a contract extension. It became the headline of the summer, along with the starting quarterback debate, with rumors continuing and social media activity fanning the flames.

It made the entire situation even worse and, at one point, led to an animated conversation between Judon and Jerod Mayo, which resulted in the pass rusher missing practice the rest of the week.

Eventually, there was no resolve, and the Patriots decided to trade Judon to the Falcons for a third-round pick, a much better return for the four-time Pro Bowler than anyone initially projected. It wasn't a move met with a lot of approval, especially from fans, and it looks like they weren't the only ones.

Now that Bill Belichick is part of the media and continues appearing on various programs ahead of the upcoming season, he was asked about his former team's decision to ship off one of the best free agents he ever signed.

Despite the impressive return for Judon coming off a season-ending injury, Belichick wasn't too fond of the move, but not in the way you'd think.

Bill Belichick doesn't understand a key missing component of the Matthew Judon trade

Earlier this week, during a recent appearance on ESPN's "The Pat McAfee Show," which he will be a regular guest on during the 2024 NFL season, Belichick spoke about the Patriots' decision to trade perhaps their best defensive player earlier this month.

Surprisingly, Belichick was far from a fan of the Falcons' approach to the trade. He emphasized his dislike for their seeming unwillingness to lock him down with a contract extension, the key reason why he was traded in the first place.

"I'm kind of surprised that Atlanta hasn't extended Matthew Judon's contract. I think that he's pretty undervalued for what his contract is, based on the way it was set up there."

He went over the logistics of how these kinds of situations traditionally go since he was a longtime general manager of the Patriots. He states he's unsure why the Falcons haven't attempted to add incentives to Judon's contract to bulk up his 2024 salary, which would also increase their chances of re-signing him if he has a great season if they're opposed to extending him right away.

While it seems not to make sense given the situation that caused the trade in the first place, Judon doesn't appear to be displeased, as he has already said that he understands why Atlanta didn't offer an extension right away.

He wants to prove he is worthy of that extension, and since he's with a new team, he feels he has new people to demonstrate that to. He's already declared to have a monster season, which will be a huge bummer if that happens outside New England.

If that is the inevitable future, the Falcons better hope they do enough to keep him around because their defense certainly needs him in their lineup for their hopeful return to long-term relevance.

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