Matthew Judon reveals key details regarding extension talks with Patriots

The new regime in New England, led by Jerod Mayo and Eliot Wolf, has done a solid job during their early tenures in prioritizing the extension of several players who are integral parts of the Patriots' roster. From Christian Barmore and Kendrick Bourne to Kyle Dugger and Michael Onwenu, both sides of the ball are in good hands for the next few years, with these guys remaining with the team.

But one player is noticeably absent from that list and continues to be the subject of countless rumors regarding his status with the team, prompting fans to worry about what his future might hold with the team.

It would be fair to argue that Matthew Judon has been the Patriots' most impactful player over the last three years. Since he arrived during the spending spree of the 2021 offseason, the defense has been on the rise and has become one of the best in the league.

He has been the leader in many areas, most notably as a pass rusher, and has already cemented his status in the Patriots record books because of his production. Judon looked well on his way to putting together another Pro Bowl season in 2023, which would mark his third season in a row earning those honors, but he suffered a season-ending injury against the Cowboys in Week 4 to end his year prematurely.

Now that he's back to his old self, he's looking forward to what he's calling "a vendetta" during the 2024 season, but there are a lot of question marks surrounding his status that he recently addressed on "The Rich Shertenlieb Show."

Matthew Judon addresses everything regarding extension talks with Patriots

There has been a lot of speculation about contract talks between Judon and the Patriots, with some reports suggesting Wolf is prioritizing getting a deal done with the linebacker as soon as possible. Given how important he is to the team's success on defense, that's the ideal situation, and hopefully, it's true. But we're yet to see anything come to fruition as the team finishes mandatory minicamp this week.

Because of this, Judon was asked about those conversations and whether the reason they haven't agreed to terms on an extension is that they're far apart in salary. The veteran set the record straight with an honest and humbled response, which settled some concerns about his future with the team.

"Bro, I’m in the building right now. We ain’t far apart, you feel me. You’ve seen me with my helmet and jersey on yesterday. I’m not mad. You gotta hear it, like, I had a setback last year, and I only got to play four games. And in that fourth game, we were getting our butt whooped. After that, I couldn’t do nothing else about nothing else. So I’m trying to play football. I want to play football. That’s what I’ve been blessed to do. I’ve been blessed to be really good at it. And so playing football is kind of what I really want to do.

The money will come. It’ll come if I’m good enough, right? If they value what I do. I got goals. I got goals and aspirations I want to get done in my career and just my legacy. So when I go back and tell my sons, you know, ‘Your dad was kind of a baller,’ it’ll be true. It’ll be true. I think my kids and stuff are gonna be set up for the rest of their life, how much I have already been paid. So I’m gonna be all right whatever I get paid."

Although his answer seemed to clarify many of the questions surrounding his status, there are still rumors lingering about him potentially holding out this summer to force the team to pay up.

Judon didn't shy away from the question and gave a detailed response regarding his plans no matter what the future holds for him with the Patriots.

“Right now, I’m just going to get ready to play. You kind of keep throwing tantrums, tantrums, tantrums – and then you don’t come out there and do what you’re supposed to do – it kind of gets old real fast. I ain’t really trying to do that. I’m just trying to come out here and play football, get ready for this upcoming season, and put our defense and ourselves in a position to where we can win the most games, or to be the most effective.

So that’s kind of what I’m really on right now. I ain’t worried about holding out, sitting out, or sitting in, kind of protesting. I’m just going to come out here and kind of play [inaduble]. Because last year, that stuff was trash. I ain’t really like that. I’m a football player. I don’t really want to get into the agency side. So that’s what I’m going to do – I’m going to come out here and play some football.”

It's good to hear that one of the best players on the team plans to play no matter the circumstances, favorable or otherwise. But at the same time, it's a bit ridiculous to hear that Wolf still hasn't had in-depth conversations with Judon about getting an extension done.

He has done more than enough to earn an extension and has said numerous times that he would like to retire in New England. That might not mean much to the guys paying his salary, but Judon has been an impactful member of the roster in more ways than just his production on the field, so it seems like a no-brainer to lock him down beyond the 2024 season.

Let's hope it happens sooner rather than later so we don't hear a revised version of Judon's response to these questions later in the summer.

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