The star defender reportedly could be nearing a holdout
Matthew Judon is set to enter the final year of his contract, but whether the New England Patriots star defender will play on such a sum is yet to be seen.
Boston Sports Journal’s Greg Bedard reported Judon will not play on his current deal.
“What I know is he may be playing nice publicly, and he has. He has said all of the right things,” Bedard said on his “Greg Bedard Patriots Podcast” released over the weekend. “And if you want to believe him, take him at his word, go right ahead. I’m not going to stop you.
“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.”
Judon, however, pushed back at Bedard’s report. It comes after the Patriots reworked Judon’s contract last season and gave him a cash advance, but did not add any new money.
“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.”
FOX Sports’ Henry McKenna reported last week Judon asked for a new contract and the Patriots made an offer, but the two sides are not close to terms. ESPN’s Mike Reiss wrote over the weekend New England hoped to have all contract-related matters addressed before training camp.
The Patriots report next week with training camp set to begin July 24.