Matthew Judon: I Can't Demand New Falcons Contract After Trade From Patriots

Matthew Judon indicated on Monday that he wouldn't be seeking a contract extension from the Atlanta Falcons after being traded to the team this summer.

"The Falcons know nothing about me as a football player or as a man," he told reporters. "They know my previous résumé. I can't really demand or ask for anything I haven't worked for. I'm gonna work for it."

Those comments may raise some eyebrows among New England Patriots fans, given that Judon was holding in this summer in hopes of getting a new contract. The rebuilding Patriots decided against giving him one, instead trading him to the Falcons for a third-round pick.

Judon was also at odds with the Patriots over his contract ahead of the 2023 season before the team reworked his deal, raising his guaranteed money from $2 million to $14 million. A biceps tear last season, however, cost him the final 13 games of the regular season.

When healthy, the 32-year-old has proven to be a disruptor off the edge, posting 12.5 sacks in the 2021 season and a career-high 15.5 sacks in 2022. Given that production, the $6.5 million in base salary he'll play under in the 2024 campaign makes him quite the bargain.

The Patriots, of course, would counter that both his age and his season-ending injury a year ago factored into their apparent reluctance to offer him an extension, alongside the team's rebuilding timeline.

And Judon, to his credit, understood that side of the business.

"I'm not blaming nobody," he told WBZ-TV Sports' Steve Burton. "I think as an organization, you look at your roster, you look at your cap, you look at the pieces you bring. That's what training camp is for; 'Are we going to be OK without this guy, do you think we can replace the production he has?' I think the answer was yes, so that's why they pulled that trigger [on a trade]."

Atlanta, meanwhile, is in win-now mode after addressing the quarterback position this offseason, signing Kirk Cousins. Judon should provide a major boost to the defense if he's able to return to his 2022 form as the Falcons seek an NFC South crown and playoff berth.