Matthew Judon Holdout? Patriots Star Weighs In On Possibility

Matthew Judon wasn’t on the field when the New England Patriots opened up organized team activities last Monday.

It fueled speculation that it could possibly be a contract-related absence for the 31-year-old edge rusher as he enters the final year of a four-year deal.

OTAs are voluntary, though, which means Judon can’t be disciplined for skipping out on them. Mandatory minicamp, which the Patriots will hold from June 10-12, is another story. Players can be fined close to $100,000 for missing all three days.

But you can bet that Judon will be in attendance for minicamp after what he told MassLive’s Karen Guregian on Sunday at his youth football camp in Tyngsboro, Mass.

“Hell yeah,” Judon told Guregian on if he will show up for minicamp. “I ain’t giving no money away.”

How much work Judon, who is coming off a torn biceps which ended his 2023 season in Week 4, does during those sessions remains to be seen. The four-time Pro Bowler could be present for the practices, but not actually do much as he did last season in training camp before the Patriots reworked his contract to give him a pay bump from $2 million to $14 million in guaranteed money for the 2023 season.

Judon’s base salary is $6.5 million for the upcoming season, according to Over The Cap, which is well outside what the top 25 edge rushers in the NFL make.

That could be a source of contention for Judon and something to keep an eye on even if he’s on the practice fields for next month’s minicamp.