Video: Patriots' Matthew Judon, Jerod Mayo Appear to Exchange Words at Practice

Edge-rusher Matthew Judon didn't participate in the New England Patriots' practice on Monday, ostensibly "holding in" as he seeks a reworked deal.

And that potentially led to an animated exchange between him and New England head coach Jerod Mayo, per multiple reports, before the veteran pass-rusher walked off the field:

Judon, 31, is set to $6.5 million in base salary in the final year of his current deal before becoming eligible to hit free agency after the season. He clearly is seeking some more security in future years and guaranteed money beyond that.

He also held in last season before the Patriots agreed to rework his contract.

"I signed the deal; there's my signature on it, so I've got to play on it," Judon told reporters last week, seemingly putting to rest any notion of a full-blown holdout. "Would I like to? No. Do I think that's my value? No. But again, that's not up to me."

His vocal displeasure with his current contract, however, didn't make his "hold-in" approach on Monday all that surprising.

"Honestly, it's tough going into the last year of the deal," he told reporters last week. "You kind of look at everybody around the league and in the building and you see them getting deals done and worked out, and it's tough to not be jealous or envious or something like that. But honestly, I've got to focus on myself."

A number of Patriots have received extensions this offseason, including Rhamondre Stevenson, David Andrews and Christian Barmore. Kendrick Bourne, Anfernee Jennings and Josh Uche were also re-signed.

One issue for Judon is that he's coming off a season that saw him miss 13 games with torn biceps. That, combined with his age, may make the Patriots less inclined to guarantee him major money in the years to come.

He's been excellent for New England when healthy, posting 12.5 sacks in 2021 and 15.5 in 2022. The Patriots may want to see him return to that form before committing big bucks, but Judon doesn't seem inclined to wait.