New proposed trade would be disastrous for the Patriots

The Patriots entered the 2024 offseason with one of the highest available cap spaces to spend in the entire league, which lined up perfectly with their need to significantly improve their roster. Because of that, there were high expectations for the contracts they'd offer and the players they'd sign, only to have one of the more underwhelming free agencies in recent memory.

The team went on to put together an impressive draft class with a focus on the offense, pleasing most analysts and fans with their decisions. On top of that, Jerod Mayo and Eliot Wolf's decisions of which players to sign to extensions were met with equal if not more approval.

But one player remains on the list of needing a new contract who perhaps deserved it last yea, but it wasn't dealt with in that way. Instead, Bill Belichick fronted more money to Matthew Judon for the 2023 season, leaving the extension negotiations for this offseason.

Rumors have suggested those conversations should be happening soon, with even Judon hinting at something already going down.

But because he remains unsigned beyond the upcoming season, some anxious fans have already decided to include the Patriots' most productive defensive player in proposed trades to get done before Week 1, which should never happen in a million years.

New proposed trade would be disastrous for the Patriots

With the Patriots still having nearly $50 million in cap space to use this year, there have been a lot of talks regarding how they might choose to use it. Some believe they'll want to focus on bringing in more young talent, which they did a lot of with their free agency signings and draft picks.

And because of that line of thinking, they believe this puts Judon on the outside looking in, despite how integral he has become to the Patriots defensive success.

That's the thought process that Alex Ballentine of Bleacher Report had when he proposed New England trade Judon and two 2025 seventh-round picks to the Ravens for two future fifth-rounders, allowing the linebacker to reunite with the team that drafted him.

The proposal is horrific on its own, but Ballentine's reasoning makes it a bit worse.

He claims the trade makes a lot of sense for both sides, which could be argued to be the complete opposite, and cites Judon's probable desire to win a Super Bowl before he decides to retire.

However, he left out the number of times the pass rusher has stated he wants to remain with the Patriots and retire there, which completely contradicts Ballentine's mention of Judon wishing to win a championship.

"From the veteran's perspective, it makes a whole lot more sense to be chasing a ring with a contender in the twilight of his career than hanging around on a roster that isn't ready to compete.

A reunion with the Baltimore Ravens, who drafted him in the fifth round of the 2016 draft, would make sense for all parties involved. The Ravens need some proven production on the perimeter. David Ojabo and Odafe Oweh are potential breakout players, but they still could use another threat on the outside to replace Jadeveon Clowney."

Although this is just a hypothetical trade, it would be a disastrous move for the Patriots, who have worked hard to assemble a good roster for the upcoming season.

It might not be great that Judon will start the season just turning 32 years old, but he's shown no signs of slowing down, even begging the team to let him return last year after recovering from his injury, and it was clear the defense declined in his absence.

Maybe this trade proposal would have been more understandable if they had brought in a star pass rusher during the offseason. But this looks one-sided at best, with the Ravens benefitting from it and the Patriots suffering, so there's no reason to even entertain a trade like this anytime soon.

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