Judging by Monday's training camp practice, Matthew Judon doesn't appear to be any closer to getting the contract he desires from the New England Patriots.
While he was present on the fields outside Gillette Stadium, the star outside linebacker didn't participate in the padded practice. He watched his fellow pass-rushers participate in drills and had animated discussions with head coach Jerod Mayo, executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf, and director of player personnel Matt Groh before leaving the field.
Judon has been vocal about his frustrations with his current contract, which has him making $6.5 million in base salary this season. He continued to vent about the situation on a recent episode of Marc Lewis' "Shut Up Marc Podcast."
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"I love football, I don't love the business of football," Judon said. "I don't want to be the villain. I don't want to be the bad guy. But it's like -- shoot, bro. Like, help me out. You've got the most cap (space) in the league right now, bro. And then with that, they don't even get the money. So, what the hell are y'all doing with it? Like, y'all literally just not using it."
New England has the second-most salary cap space in the NFL with approximately $43.5 million, according to Over the Cap. The San Francisco 49ers top the league with roughly $52.3 million.
Judon revealed he wrote his own contract and sent it to the Patriots front office.
"Those guys have a tough decision. It's hard for them," he added. "It's hard to know who to give the money to, when to give the money to, where, how much. There's a lot of stuff that goes along with that.
"But I wrote out my own contract and sent it to them. They just ain't respond. ... I don't do most of the talking to them. They let me play football, and I've got an agent, but that one thing I did do."
Judon shined through his first two seasons with the Patriots, registering a career-high 12.5 sacks in 2021 and 15.5 in 2022. Last year though, he played in only four games due to a season-ending bicep tear. That and the fact he turns 32 next month could be the factors keeping him from getting the deal he's looking for.
The Patriots will return to the practice field Tuesday at 11 a.m. ET. Judon's participation -- or lack thereof -- will surely be among the storylines worth monitoring.