Matthew Judon's contract impasse with the New England Patriots remains unresolved with less than a month until the team's season opener.
The star outside linebacker wants a raise from the $6.5 million he is set to earn in 2024. The Patriots reportedly offered him a new contract earlier this summer, but the two sides remain far apart in negotiations.
Multiple teams have since contacted New England about a potential Judon trade, per ESPN's Jeremy Fowler. But would it make sense for the Patriots to pull the trigger on such a deal? Our Pats insider Phil Perry shared his thoughts on Monday's Early Edition.
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"It depends on what you're trying to get out of this year," he said. "If you're trying to compete and win games on the defensive side, and trying to keep games close and keep games low scoring, you should want to try to figure something out with Matthew Judon. You have the money to spend. He's deserving of a bump from 6.5 (million). That is not his market. They have tried to give him a bump from there, they just haven't been able to meet in the middle."
Perry believes with the Patriots in a rebuilding phase, they should look to trade Judon if they can't find common ground. The downside is they likely wouldn't get much value in return. Perry used the Philadelphia Eagles trading edge rusher Haason Reddick to the New York Jets for a conditional third-rounder as an example.
"If they can't get anything done, they should look to deal him because the flip side to competing now is, 'Well, we're not winning anything this year whether he's here or not, and so let's see if we can get ourselves a valuable pick.' But I don't think they're getting a valuable pick for Matthew Judon," Perry said.
"You can just look a couple of hundred miles to the south with what's going on with Haason Reddick right now. He's about to turn 30 years old, so he's younger than Judon. He's been more productive than Judon because he hasn't been hurt the way Judon was last year, and he went for a conditional third-rounder two years from now that could end up being a second-rounder. If you bring Judon into the equation, you may be talking about a conditional -- at least bump it down one round -- a conditional fourth in 2027. Like, that might be what you're talking about if you trade this guy."
Judon signed a four-year, $54.5 million contract with the Patriots as a free agent in 2021. The soon-to-be 32-year-old tallied 12.5 sacks in 17 games in 2021 and a career-high 15.5 sacks in 17 games in 2022. He notched four sacks in four games in 2023 before suffering a season-ending biceps injury.
The Patriots will play their second preseason game this Thursday night vs. the Eagles.