FOXBORO, Mass. — Matthew Judon’s wallet got a bit thicker this week.
Fined $10,300 by the NFL for an unnecessary roughness penalty back in Week 1, the New England Patriots outside linebacker got word Wednesday that he’d won his appeal, allowing him to recoup that money.
Judon celebrated the news on Twitter …
… then again in his Thursday morning news conference.
“Oh yeah!” he said when asked about his successful appeal. “Yeah, man. I guess the good people at the NFL office see fit that they should give my money back, and I agree with them. So I thank them, and I thank that they took their time and they came out with a decision that I liked. But that’s just kind of how it is.”
On the play in question, Judon drove Miami Dolphins long snapper Blake Ferguson out of bounds on a punt return, drawing a personal foul. He later called the penalty a “selfish mistake” but believed it didn’t warrant a fine, saying: “You’re supposed to appeal every fine you get unless you really did it, and I don’t believe I did this one.”
Judon thanked Jon Runyan, the NFL’s vice president of policy and rules administration, for agreeing with him.
“Football is bang-bang,” he said, “and when you get to slow it down and you can actually see it and you can take a step back and take a very long, two-month look at it, they came out, like I said, with the decision that I liked. So I appreciate you, Jon Runyan, for going with what I thought you should do. So, thank you.”
Judon has been one of the NFL’s most disruptive players in his first season with the Patriots. Eight games in, the former Baltimore Ravens standout ranks fourth in the NFL in sacks (eight), tied for eighth in QB hits (14), tied for fourth in tackles for loss (11) and sixth in total pressures (39).
