How Matthew Judon’s Perception Of ‘Weirdo’ Patriots Has Changed

After playing the first five seasons of his NFL career with the Baltimore Ravens, Matthew Judon formulated an opinion of the New England Patriots organization.

Like many outsiders and even some former New England players, Judon saw the Patriots as a buttoned-up, no-nonsense franchise that punched in and punched out for work while not exuding any sort of a personality.

But once getting in the building after signing a four-year, $54.5 million deal in free agency in March of 2021, Judon found out he was wrong. And now three seasons into his tenure with New England, Judon’s perception of the Patriots certainly has taken a new shape.

“Outside looking in, you see just a whole bunch of stuck up guys,” Judon told NBC Sports analyst and former Patriots captain Devin McCourty ahead of New England’s game against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday. “But when you get in the building, ya’ll joke, have fun, do things differently than a lot of other teams around the league, or from where I was from. I was like, ‘These dudes not pencil necks. But I thought when you (McCourty) were back there running around I was like, ‘Man, this dude, he a cornball.’ But I got here and you were kind of straight.

“That’s what I was thinking. I ain’t really never met ya’ll at any other social event or nothing. I ain’t never seen like a Patriots player out. So, I was like, ‘Man, these dudes are weirdos.’ I ain’t never met none of ya’ll in the offseason. I come from Granite Valley so I don’t really know ya’ll like that or have connections like that.”

It didn’t take long for Judon to realize the Patriots were different than he expected. The first two Patriots he said he met were Deatrich Wise and Matthew Slater, and Wise’s “quirky” presence along with the respect he quickly gained for the well-spoken Slater helped ease him into his new surroundings.

Judon felt like he could be himself on the Patriots, bringing speakers into the locker room, which drew a favorable reaction from his teammates.

Judon also had no problem acclimating on the field with the Patriots. He tallied 12.5 sacks in his first season with New England and followed that up with a 15.5-sack campaign in 2022. The high-end production earned Judon Pro Bowl honors each season.

And as it turns out, the Patriots ended up being the perfect fit for Judon and his fun-loving personality.

“When I came in, ya’ll just joked and ya’ll kind of took me under ya’ll wing,” Judon told McCourty. “And ya’ll was like, ‘Judon, go out there and be you. We know you might not know some of these plays. You might mess up a little bit, but we’re going to get you right.’

“Ya’ll just allowed me to play football and when I can play football, I can be myself.”