Former Patriots Exectuvie Scott Pioli talks exclusively to Tom Curran about Matthew Judon’s contract situation. Pioli offers a different perspective as a former front office member.
Matthew Judon is back on the field at New England Patriots training camp after a rocky few days in which he had animated discussions with team brass Monday and skipped practice altogether Tuesday.
The star pass-rusher still doesn't have the new contract he seeks, however, and order won't be fully restored until the Patriots either give him a new deal, let him play out the final year of his contract or explore a trade if Judon refuses to play on his current deal.
Judon's public voicing of his contract displeasure has caused a bit of a sideshow at Patriots camp, but longtime NFL executive and former Patriots vice president of player personnel Scott Pioli doesn't begrudge the 31-year-old for making his desires known.
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"People will say, 'Well, that was a bad reaction.' That was a human reaction," Pioli said in an exclusive interview with Patriots Insider Tom E. Curran.
Pioli dealt with several tricky contract negotiations during his Patriots tenure, including with Deion Branch. The fan favorite wide receiver held out in the summer of 2006 while seeking a new deal, and New England eventually traded him to the Seattle Seahawks after failing to find financial common ground.
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"(In) contract negotiations, two sides see things differently, and you have to have different responsibilities," Pioli told Curran. "You talk about about the Deion Branch thing: We had a responsibility to 52 other players, five practice squad players, this entire organization, the fanbase, ownership, where we had to do what we believed was the right thing in the best interest of the team."
Current Patriots executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf owes this organization the same thing, Pioli says. So, while Judon understandably wants more than the $6.5 million in base salary he's set to make in 2024, Wolf and the front office need to weigh how much they want to offer a nine-year veteran who turns 32 this month and amassed 28 total sacks in 2021 and 2022 but missed 13 games in 2023 due to a torn biceps.
Ultimately, it comes down to paying players based on projected future performance, not past performance, Pioli says.
"What (Judon) believes -- and what he should believe -- he's going to be, may not be what the team believes he's gonna be in the future," Pioli added. "And that's a really important thing: When you get into the business of paying for past performance, in the end, it's gonna be a cap loser's game.
"It also sets a culture where your players know, and part of the culture in putting things out there is making sure that everybody -- not just players, (but) scouts, coaches, everyone -- is performing, not only now but for the future. And that's either part of your culture or not."
Our Phil Perry has reported both Judon and the Patriots have a willingness to get a deal done, so it's possible the two sides find common ground before the regular season. But Wolf and Co. have to strike a delicate balance of taking care of a well-respected veteran while not overpaying based on his previous accomplishments.
Check out Curran's full conversation with Pioli in the YouTube video below.
