Matthew Judon addresses rumors regarding his stance with Patriots

Besides the need to drastically improve the roster during the 2024 offseason, there was a lot of talk about the players deserving of an extension, and this year seemed like the most appropriate time to give them one.

The new regime led by Jerod Mayo and Eliot Wolf got it done with a few of the top candidates already in Christian Barmore, Kendrick Bourne, Hunter Henry and Mike Onwenu. But there's one integral player who remains unsigned beyond this upcoming season, and that's Matthew Judon.

The linebacker was signed on what is now considered a bargain in 2021 during Bill Belichick's free agency spending spree, and he has become the most productive player on defense in the last three years.

Because of that and earning Pro Bowl honors for his first two seasons in New England, Judon was looking for a bigger payday last year. The team obliged by moving money due to him this year to line his pockets for the 2023 season. But that still avoided the bigger necessity at hand, which was signing him to an extension.

Since that hasn't happened yet and Judon didn't attend OTAs, rumors began to swirl, alluding to a potential holdout this summer, which naturally got back to him in recent days. Fortunately, he addressed it all during his youth camp last week and gave some positive news for Patriots fans.

Matthew Judon addresses rumors regarding his stance with Patriots

Before taking the field for this year's youth camp, Judon took to social media and hinted that something good was coming regarding his contract. He posted an infamous gif that suggests he's not leaving the team but has not followed it up with any explanation.

With so much chatter going on in New England involving his stance with the team, MassLive's Karen Guregian spoke to him about his contract over the weekend and asked if he would be attending training camp next month, which takes place June 10-12.

"Hell, yeah. I ain't giving no money away!"

His emphatic response provides a sigh of relief, even if it's just temporary. If he chose to skip those three days of practice, we know he would be fined around $100,000, which is a lot, even for someone who makes millions of dollars.

So it's good to know he will be back with the team shortly, but he didn't address anything regarding contract negotiations to further clarify what's going on behind the scenes.

Hopefully, Mayo and Wolf will continue their good track record of re-signings/extensions this offseason and get a deal done sooner rather than later with Judon because the team simply cannot afford to lose him.

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