Joe Judge’s move back to special teams for the Patriots is off to a less-than-stellar start.
Boston Sports Journal’s Greg Bedard on Friday reported Judge was the one who scheduled the meeting that resulted in two lost days of organized team activities (OTAs) and a $50,000 fine for head coach Bill Belichick.
Bedard shared a May 9 complaint from the NFL Players Association alleging Judge — referred to in the document as the Patriots’ special teams coach — “directed special teams players to be at the Club’s facility longer than the maximum of four hours permitted during Phase Two of the Club’s program.”
Per league documents relayed by Bedard, Judge implemented “Special Teams Workshops” to be held 20 minutes before players began their originally scheduled offensive and defensive meetings and workouts. The NFLPA argued this “unequivocally” violated the NFL’s rule against teams keeping players at the facility for more than four hours during Phase Two of the offseason program.
“The (Patriots have) candidly conceded, and the record unequivocally established, the violation,” the NFL added, via Bedard.
The Patriots reportedly viewed these “workshops” as voluntary — as all practices, meetings and workouts must be until mandatory minicamp begins in mid-June — but they violated league rules because they were not contained during the aforementioned four-hour time block.
Judge shifted back to special teams — his main area of expertise throughout his career — this offseason after serving as the Patriots’ quarterbacks coach in 2022. The former New York Giants head coach reportedly clashed with starting QB Mac Jones and others during his time in that role, and New England’s offense nosedived with Judge and Matt Patricia as its primary leaders.
“Mac didn’t like him. At all,” a team source told the Boston Herald in a bombshell report published in January.
New England held its first two OTAs practices on Monday and Tuesday. The NFL sanctions resulted in the cancelation of practices set to be held Thursday and next Tuesday. The Patriots’ next scheduled practice is next Wednesday. That session will be open to the media, and Belichick is scheduled to hold a news conference.
