There’s No Good Way To Spin Patriots’ Matthew Judon Trade

OK, so maybe technically, the Patriots finding a way to turn Matthew Judon — a 32-year-old player coming off a major injury at a position that requires explosiveness — into a third-round pick, is a positive outcome for New England.

But that doesn’t mean fans should feel happy about it and what it represents for the future of the franchise.

Judon is on his way to Atlanta where he’ll likely add a boost to a Falcons team that has legitimate reason to believe it can win the NFC South and contend for a conference title. The Patriots, meanwhile, have all but embraced their fate for the 2024 season, and it’s not good.

We did kind of already know that. Hell, Patriots owner Robert Kraft went on the radio just this week and admitted as much to 98.5 The Sports Hub’s “Zo and Bertrand Show” in an interview Tuesday.

“I don’t know what our record is going to be this year, but I’m very excited about what’s going on right here at this level,” the 83-year-old said, seemingly with a straight face and no sense of sarcasm.

Maybe the Patriots strike gold with the (likely) top-100 pick they landed from the Falcons in the 2025 draft and take the next Nico Collins. If that happens, it will surely be celebrated as a great accomplishment, especially if Judon never returns to Pro Bowl-level play, and the Falcons fall on their faces.

But what good does that do a Patriots fan in 2024? Does it even do them any good in 2025? How about 2026?

Obviously, there might not be a more spoiled fan in sports than, say, a 40-year-old Pats supporter. There has been more than enough winning for a lifetime over the last 25 years. But there’s also nothing that says you should be happy with what’s in front of you now because of what you’ve seen before.

Even if the Judon trade was a “smart football move,” there’s something still kind of depressing about trading your best player and doing so essentially for one of two reasons: Either you just didn’t want to pay him (despite $50 million in cap space), or you didn’t think it was worth paying him because you’re not even close to contending — not sure which one is worse, honestly.

If the Patriots felt the Judon situation was untenable at this point, that’s kind of them, too, for letting it get to this point.

We already knew this team wasn’t very talented. Now, their best, most marketable player is gone. The defense, which looked like the strength of the team is crumbling. Judon is gone. Christian Barmore might not be back this season. There’s no guarantee someone like Joshua Uche makes an impact the team expects, especially how much he benefited from Judon’s presence on and off the field. There are even questions about Christian Gonzalez entering Year 2.

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That’s just the defense. Never mind an offense that can’t block, is led by a journeyman quarterback and boasts a receiver room led by a hobbled veteran and some relatively unproven youngsters. In hindsight, it sure would have been nice to pony up some of those Judon savings for a Calvin Ridley or Jonah Williams.

Just five months ago, Kraft said his “hope and expectation” was to make the playoffs — in 2024! Now, we’re just excited about what’s going on. Maybe remember that when you’re layering on the thermal underwear for Patriots-Chargers in late December when trying to match the 4-13 record of 2023 might be the best-case scenario.

“We’re trying to build something special, and the fan support has been great. That means a lot,” Kraft said on the radio this week.

Jettisoning Judon, as necessary as it might have been, is another step back for a team that hasn’t won a playoff game since 2018. That fan support might be wavering more than Kraft realizes at this point.