Could Patriots Failed Pursuit Of Brandon Aiyuk Open Up Contract Talks With Other Star?

It appears the Patriots won't be acquiring Brandon Aiyuk even though they reportedly were prepared to give the San Francisco 49ers star wide receiver a boatload of cash to come to New England.

So, what should the Patriots do with all the money still burning a hole in their pockets? They can use it to invest in a player currently on their roster and looking for a pay raise, too.

Matthew Judon, who is set to make $6.5 million in the final year of a four-year deal, has been outspoken about his displeasure with his contract, which has turned into quite the saga during Patriots training camp.

The Patriots certainly could cut off a chunk of the cash they were willing to give Aiyuk and send it in Judon's direction -- if his antics haven't soured New England from giving him a contract extension.

But first-year head coach Jerod Mayo said that even when the Patriots were engaged on Aiyuk, it wouldn't have prevented them from doing any other deals.

"All of those conversations are independent of each other," Mayo told reporters prior to practice Tuesday, per team-provided video. "Everything is its own independent move and that's how we look at it."

Perhaps that's not a good sign for Judon to get what he wants, especially since the Patriots have pulled an Oprah Winfrey move and basically gave contract extensions to anyone who asked.

Judon is trying to leverage the Patriots and was practically a hold-in at Tuesday's practice. He was present for the session but did not participate in any team drills, including 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 work.

With the Patriots out of the Aiyuk sweepstakes, there could be a shift in Judon's actions, knowing that regardless of what Mayo said, there is money no longer earmarked for Aiyuk.

And if Judon plays nice, he could get what he wanted after all.