How Terrell Suggs inspired Matthew Judon to wear long red sleeves in training camp
Judon shares the inspiration behind his summer practice habit, former Ravens teammate Terrell Suggs.
Matthew Judon is sticking to his signature look of wearing long red sleeves under his jersey.
He’s done it for three days in a row now, even as temperatures rose to nearly 90 degrees in Foxborough during training camp.
And it’s not like he was wearing a long-sleeve t-shirt or anything light like that. He was in a thick, red, hooded sweatshirt with the Patriots’ logo on it.
“Bro, you’re in a button-up, it’s the same thing,” Judon joked when asked about it.
Judon explained that he began the habit after watching Terrell Suggs when he was in Baltimore.
“I saw one of the greatest pass-rushers in my eyes, who was Terrell Suggs,” Judon said. “I give a lot of my game to him because I stole from him. This is one thing that I stole from him.”
Judon began his NFL career in Baltimore in 2016. By then, Suggs was well over a decade into his career.
“There was one year, he came in, he was a little overweight and he practiced his butt off and he wore a long sleeve every day,” Judon said. “By the end of camp he had a six-pack and he was ready and he went out there and got like 12.5 sacks like in his 13th year. “
“And so, I was like man if he can do just that little thing,” Judon continued. “And just forget about the elements, forget about how hot he is, forget about if it’s cold, forget about the circumstances going around and just focus on football, that’s one thing I wanted to steal from him.”
Judon, 30, is entering his eighth season. He had a career-best 15.5 sacks last year en route to his fourth consecutive Pro Bowl appearance.
He said that he doesn’t consider wearing long sleeves in training camp as much of a challenge since he’s been doing it for so long.
“I’m used to it,” Judon said. “I’ve been doing this since I was young in my career and I’m used to it, so I really don’t think about it. I just hang it in my locker, throw that thing on and have fun.”
Judon returned to red zone scrimmages on Friday after being a limited participant for the first two days of camp.
“Right now, we were just working,” Judon said. “Me and the training staff and the coaches, were just working to where when I do practice I’m at a good pace, I can move fast the whole practice.”
Judon was asked if his limited participation had anything to do with his contract. He has two years remaining on a 4-year, $54 million dollar deal.
Although he has the biggest cap hit on the team, some could argue Judon is underpaid based on the production that he brings to the table.
“It’s nothing like that,” Judon said. “It’s just working on conditioning, working on running, making sure I am where I need to be because I’ve come out here in shells in stuff, moving slow doesn’t look good but when we put on pads, I’ll be good.”
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com