When the New England Patriots' lone Pro Bowler from last season isn't a full participant at practice, it's worth mentioning.
Patriots edge rusher Matthew Judon didn't participate in team drills during the first two days of training camp on Wednesday and Thursday. He was more active in Friday's session at Gillette Stadium, but Patriots Insider Phil Perry noted he was still "limited."
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So, are Judon's limited reps health-related or contract-related? While the 30-year-old is under contract through 2024, Perry reported this morning that Judon would "like his contract adjusted" from his average annual value of $13.6 million, which ranks 20th among NFL edge rushers.
One option for players seeking new deals is to stage a "hold-in," which means they show up to training camp to avoid paying the $50,000 daily fine for missing practices but limit their participation in practice sessions to get their point across. But Judon suggested he's not taking that path when our Tom E. Curran asked about his contract situation Friday.
"Right now, me and the training staff and the coaches (are) just working to where, when I do practice I am at a good pace, I can move fast the whole practice," Judon said, as seen in the video above. "So, it's nothing like that. It's more working on my conditioning, working on my running and making sure I am where I need to be, because when I come out here (with) shells and stuff and (I'm) moving slow, it doesn't look good. But when we put on pads, we'll be here."
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Curran then asked Judon directly if he's happy with his current contract.
"I'm happy to be here, man," Judon said. "I'm definitely not gonna talk about contracts with y'all. Y'all some snitches!
"But I'm happy that I'm here, I'm happy that I'm a Patriot, and then wherever that goes, it goes."
That Judon participated in team drills Friday could be a sign that there's no major issue between the star pass rusher and New England. At the very least, however, Judon seems well aware of the NFL's financial landscape, pointing to the number of deals signed this week as training camps ramp up -- one of which was defensive end Trey Hendrickson's one-year $21 million extension with the Cincinnati Bengals.
"The market changes every day," Judon added. "We've seen it, the first day of training camp a whole bunch of people got paid. The market changes every day."