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Matthew Judon’s candid take on potential Patriots futures of Mac Jones, Bailey Zappe
"It sounds terrible."
Matthew Judon’s blunt response to a question about Mac Jones and Patriots quarterbacks: With the Patriots heading into a pivotal offseason — the team made its first coaching change in decades, and holds its highest draft pick since 1993 — one of the main topics of discussion will inevitably be the quarterback position.
Former first-round pick Mac Jones struggled in 2023, and was benched multiple times (culminating with backup Bailey Zappe taking over the starting role over the final six games of a 4-13 season).
Matthew Judon, one of the team’s defensive leaders, broached the subject of the offense’s issues in a recent interview with 98.5 The Sports Hub’s “Felger & Mazz.”
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Asked if “there’s a fit there” between Jones and the Patriots in the future under new head coach Jerod Mayo (who has also brought in a new offensive coaching staff), Judon was blunt.
“Honestly I don’t care,” he replied. “It’s sounds terrible. I just want our offense to score points…sustain drives, and regardless if that’s Mac, Zappe, somebody else, I don’t care.
“I think both Mac and Zappe have the talent to do it, they just have to do it,” Judon added. “So that’s going to be up to them. The offseason is [for getting] better, and come back a different player, and I think they both can do it. They both have the skillset to do it, they just have to do it.”
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The Patriots, with the third overall pick in the upcoming 2024 NFL Draft, could (and have been projected to) take a quarterback to replace both Jones and Zappe.
Despite his acknowledgement, Judon later clarified that he doesn’t think defensive players are distracted by struggles from the offensive side during games.
“I’d say hell no,” he responded when asked if the defensive side lost faith in the offense. “I know [Ja’Whaun] Bentley. I know the leaders on that team, and we just go out there and ball. It’s like, give them the ball on the five-yard line, we go out there to stop them. That’s our thing. We’re just trying to keep points off the board, and sometimes put points on the board. It really doesn’t matter.”
Scores and schedules:
The Bruins rebounded from Tuesday’s loss to shutout the Canucks 4-0 on Thursday in a matchup of two of the better teams in the NHL.
Tonight, the Celtics host the Wizards at 7:30 p.m.
And tomorrow, the Bruins will be back on the ice to play the Capitals at TD Garden at 3:30 p.m.
More from Boston.com:
- Marchand and Heinen score short-handed, Bruins blank Canucks 4-0 in matchup of NHL’s top 2 teams
- Takeaways: Penalty kill, defense highlight Bruins’ bounce-back win
- 13 years later, Brad Marchand continues to torment the Vancouver Canucks
- Ian Rapoport explained the message the Patriots could send with draft decision on No. 3 pick
- Here’s who Rob Gronkowski thinks the Patriots should take with No. 3 pick
- Robert Kraft pushes against narrative of Patriots’ tight spending habits
- Patriots veteran admits defense dealt with ‘frustration’ throughout 2023
- Celtics reportedly trade for Jaden Springer, deal Dalano Banton to Portland
- 4 things to know about new Celtics wing Jaden Springer
- Celtics’ Jaylen Brown officially participating in Slam Dunk Contest
- Former Celtics player and Survivor contestant Scot Pollard waits in hospital for heart transplant
- What a comeback! Three longtime friends have attended every Super Bowl — and don’t intend to stop
- Tony Romo, once CBS’s ‘golden boy,’ brushes off the backlash
- ‘Beyond diabolical’: Ex-Olympian pleads guilty to abusing boys at Western Mass. camp in the 1970s
Kristaps Porzingis on Xavier Tillman: One of the Celtics’ leaders weighed in on one of the team’s newest players.
On this day: In 1964, Bill Russell posted a triple-double (24 points, 23 rebounds, 10 assists) to help the Celtics past the 76ers, 120-109. Sam Jones led the game with 27 points, and Tommy Heinsohn contributed 25.
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Elsewhere, the Bruins got a 4-4 tie against the Canadiens, and the Innsbruck Winter Olympics came to a close.
Daily highlight: Paul Otieno threw it down in a 84-73 Quinnipiac win over Saint Peter’s.
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