Why Matthew Judon’s Patriots Tenure Was Total Flop — For Both Sides

Matthew Judon came to New England as one of several players that started a new chapter for the Patriots entering the 2021 season.

An all-time era clearly came to an end when Tom Brady departed from the franchise after the 2019 season. The 2020 campaign quickly became a wash between the complications of the COVID-19 pandemic and Bill Belichick self-admittedly resetting the roster financially.

That marked the 2021 season as the true kickoff of the post-Brady era. New England selected Mac Jones in the first round of the NFL draft to lead the team forward at quarterback after beating out Cam Newton for the starting job.

Judon took the field as one of numerous new talents after an unprecedented offseason of spending. Despite a 1-3 start, the new-look squad in Foxboro quickly caught fire and set the tone to restore some winning at Gillette Stadium.

New England sparked for a stretch of seven consecutive wins and Judon blossomed as the star pass rusher the Patriots had lacked for years. He recorded 12.5 sacks and became a game-wrecker in short order.

Unfortunately, that momentum totally faded down the stretch. After an exciting win through the wind in Buffalo over the Bills to control the AFC's No. 1 seed, the Patriots stumbled to the finish. New England went 1-3 in its final four games, relinquished the division to Buffalo and Judon did not record a quarterback hit in that stretch.

The Patriots ultimately suffered a 47-17 blowout loss in the AFC Wild Card round to close out a strange trilogy with the Bills. Judon had just one tackle and one quarterback hit while walking back to the sideline after limited sequences throughout the night with just 22 defensive snaps on the night.

Still, the season looked like the start of an intriguing build. Jones played well as a rookie and Judon appeared to be a leader with the chance to take another step forward in 2022.

He did take that step. The Patriots did not.

Judon tallied 15.5 sacks for the Patriots in 2022 with another step forward as one of the elite defenders and rose up alongside an emerging Josh Uche. On the other side of the ball, New England did not help its cause when Jones' lost all progress under the unqualified offensive guidance of Matt Patricia and Joe Judge. New England fell one game short of the postseason, virtually wasting an incredible year of production.

In 2023, the season was basically over before it started. A quick glimmer of positivity came in a Week 3 win on the road against the New York Jets with Judon forcing a safety to seal the victory. The following week in Dallas, Judon tore his bicep, the Patriots lost by 35 points and the season fell off the tracks.

Judon and the Patriots once held palpable promise with each other. That couldn't have been more of the opposite entering this year's training camp. New England, led by first-year head coach Jerod Mayo, begins a total rebuild and Judon clearly wasn't happy with the money remaining in his contract year.

At different points with changed expectations, the Patriots ended the tenure and traded Judon to the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday for a 2025 third-round pick.

New England and its elite pass rusher once appeared ready to soar into an improved period. Instead, neither side could help the other in the moments that mattered most, leaving disappointment as a dark cloud over that tenure despite Judon's rise as an obvious fan-favorite and impact player for the Patriots.