Matthew Judon refutes report that he won’t ‘play under his current contract’ with Patriots
“Before yall get on my [expletive] I didn’t say that. At all don’t let them make me the villain”
Another layer was added to Matthew Judon’s mysterious contract situation Saturday.
The edge rsuher has been fairly active on social media amid reports that he and the Patriots are “not close” to agreeing on a new contract.
Judon’s latest post on X seems to refute a report from Patriots insider Greg Bedard on his “Greg Bedard Patriots Podcast” that was released Saturday morning. One quote, in particular, stood out from Bedard spread on social media and appeared to catch the player’s attention.
“What I know is he may be playing nice publicly. And he has, he said all the right things. You wanna believe him, take him at his word? Go right ahead, I’m not going to stop you,” Bedard said of Judon and his current contract. “But what I can tell you is from the people that I’ve talked to, he is not going to play under his current contract. At least for the Patriots. I can’t talk about any place else. That’s my understanding. I don’t know exactly what’s been communicated to the team, but that’s my understanding.”
A few hours after the episode was posted, Judon took to X to seemingly clear the air about Bedard’s comments.
“Before yall get on my I [expletive] say that,” he posted. “At all don’t let them make me the villain.”
Judon is set to become a free agent after this season as he enters the final year of his four-year, $54.5 million contract. Last summer, he and New England agreed to increase his guaranteed money for the 2023-24 season from $2 million to $14 million. However, it remains clear that as of now, Judon would at least prefer to sign a new deal ahead of the season.
Earlier this month, the linebacker replied to an account on X that said New England should give the 31-year-old an extension to ensure a strong defensive unit in 2024-25.
“Ion think that’s about to happen,” Judon said in response, meaning he doesn’t foresee coming to terms on a new deal with his current team.
He suffered an elbow injury four games into last season that sidelined him for the remainder of the year. Perhaps the ailment is making the Patriots hesitant to give Judon a heftier contract before the upcoming season begins.
Earlier this year after New England and former longtime head coach Bill Belichick parted ways, Judon appeared on “Felger and Mazz” to discuss the new Patriots’ front office. Before being asked a question, the player bluntly laid out his contract situation.
“I have another year on my contract, so I’m back,” Judon said.
He was then asked if he was happy about his contract situation.
“I’m happy that I’m still able to play football,” Judon said. “Numbers, I’ll let my agent and Matt [Groh] or whoever is figuring that out – and we’ll go on by that. But I think the best thing about the game is playing it and being a part of it, and that’s what that’s what I want to do. … This game is a business. It’s a business. I just want to play the game, but I also have to win at the business aspect.”
Judon turns 32 on Aug. 15.
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