Matthew Judon Claps Back At Report Of Patriots Contract Dispute

New England Patriots star edge rusher Matthew Judon appears to be sick and tired of the reports about his current contract situation.

Judon reportedly isn’t happy with his Patriots contract as he is set to go into the final year of his deal and get paid well below the top players at his position with a $6.5 million base salary.

FOX Sports’ Henry McKenna wrote last week that Judon and the Patriots “are not currently close to agreeing to a new deal” and Boston Sports Journal’s Greg Bedard followed up that report with more information Saturday.

“What I know is he may be playing nice publicly, and he has. He has said all of the right things. And if you want to believe him, take him at his word, go right ahead. I’m not going to stop you,” Bedard said on his “Greg Bedard Patriots Podcast.” “What I can tell you is from the people I’ve talked to, he is not going to play under his current contract — at least for the Patriots. I can’t talk about any place else, that’s my understanding. I don’t know exactly what’s been communicated to the team, but that’s my understanding.”

Bedard’s report seemed to set Judon off with the four-time Pro Bowler going to social media to vent his frustrations.

“Before y’all get on my ass I didn’t say that. At all,” Judon wrote on the X platform. “Don’t let them make me the villain.”

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This is the second straight offseason in which Judon apparently wants a new deal. The Patriots appeased Judon by reworking his contract last August, which gave him a sizable pay bump from $2 million to $14 million in guaranteed money for the 2023 season.

But with free agency looming for Judon after this season, it would make sense he wants to be taken care of much like many of his teammates who have received extensions this offseason. The Patriots might be hesitant to give more money to Judon, who has 32 sacks in 33 games with New England, or extend him. He is entering his age-32 season and is coming off a torn biceps injury, which limited him to four games in 2023.

As Bedard pointed out, the Patriots have options when it comes to Judon. They could give him another immediate pay bump or extend him, but if they don’t want to do that, they could seek a trade for Judon.

“All those options I would think are currently on the table,” Bedard said.