Patriots training camp takeaways: Judon addresses contract conflict on day one Originally appeared in NBC Sports Boston
FOXBORO – Matthew Judon has been nothing short of masterful in his contract impasse thus far.
I’ve seen them all over 28 seasons: Lawyer to Lawyer, Vince to Adam, Randy to Logan, Wes to Steph, Deion to Seymour to Thomas Edward Patrick Brady.
Sense of humor is the first casualty. Then comes a barely veiled (or overt) bitterness toward the team for taking advantage of them. Sometimes a bit of withholding of serve. Then, in the end, they either get what they want or they get the ticket.
You could get a caustic press conference. Or a “Ask Mr. Kraft.”
Nobody has done it like Judon. In an objective, realistic and transparent manner. He’s hurt and a little jealous. (although he says he doesn’t mind others taking his money) and is honest about the fact that while he’s not thrilled, he has no choice but to play.
“Honestly, it’s hard to get to the last year of the deal,” Judon said. “You look at everyone around the league and around the building, and you see them getting deals done and getting things done, and it’s hard not to feel envious or jealous and stuff like that.
“But I have to focus on myself. I’m happy for those guys. As much as everyone wants me to stay here for a long time, it’s not really up to me. You have to ask those guys who make those decisions.”
It’s a little unseemly for Judon to point out the pay raises many of his teammates received in the offseason. The biggest ones (Mike Onwenu, Christian Barmore, Rhamondre Stevenson and Kyle Dugger) went to players who were drafted in the sixth, second, fourth and second rounds, respectively. This is the second big-money contract for all of them.
Onwenu earned about $5.5 million in his first four years before signing his $57 million contract in March. Judon has earned $66 million so far.
Regardless, Judon — who is on track to make a maximum of $7.5 million this year and has nothing guaranteed until the first week of the season — is the 27th-highest-paid defensive defender in terms of APY on his current contract. And he’s better than the 27th-best defensive defender in the league.
Will Judon play? In answering that question, Judon showed he understands a concept that has eluded generations of athletes.
“I have to do it, honestly,” he said. “I signed the agreement. My signature is there. Would I like to do it? No. Do I think that is my value? No. But again, that is not up to me.”
Judon, who retweeted a fan’s trade proposal that would send him to the 49ers, was asked if he wants to be traded.
“Do I want to be traded? Absolutely not!” Judon responded. “I don’t think anybody wants to be traded. Honestly, I don’t handle my Twitter, bro.
“It’s not up to me,” he continued. “You can only control what you can control. There are a lot of things that happen in our daily lives that we have to respond to. If I get traded, it’s not up to me. I’m responding to all the variables in my life, as a father, as a son, as a brother, as an uncle and as a football player.
“God blessed me with a lot of talents, a lot of attributes, a lot of charisma and all that, but that’s something I can’t control. So if I go to San Francisco, or I’ve seen trades to Atlanta, Detroit, all those things, the things that everyone sees, I see them too. But I just don’t believe it. Once they tell me I’m leaving, that’s when I’m gone.”
For now, Judon is here and on the field. That’s probably the case, given Judon’s reasonable attitude toward discontent. And, in time, he’ll earn a promotion. But it’s an interesting hurdle for the Patriots’ new regime to overcome.
Head coach Jerod Mayo gave his players the strength to be themselves. One of his best players gave him a nine-minute rant on the first day of camp. And it’s not even Mayo’s purview. The salary cap and contracts are chief of personnel Eliot Wolf’s purview. And, aside from a few feel-good national interviews after the draft, Wolf has remained quiet and out of the spotlight.
The Judon impasse — and Davon Godchaux’s contractual irritation — won’t impact the season, but how the team handles it will say something about how this regime operates when things get a little complicated.
Jerod Mayo in “floating” mode
As it was the first day of camp, the Patriots were in the so-called “run-in” period. Basically, it’s an extension of minicamp with minimal contact. The team will be suited up starting Monday. So, on a rainy Wednesday with temperatures around 70 degrees, the team began practicing at 11 a.m. with dynamic stretches before doing positional drills.
The most competitive portions of practice with 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 began around 11:50 a.m. and the team headed to the conditioning hill at 12:27 p.m.
Mayo said before practice he would “float” and that’s what he did, especially during positional work. He started with the defenders and grabbed a bag to hit guys coming off the edge in a kick blocking drill. His second stop was the offensive line and then it was over to the linebackers where Dont’a Hightower, who definitely looks like he could play some snaps, demonstrated a footwork drill.
After a meeting with athletic trainer (and brother) Deron Mayo, the head coach headed to defensive line drills, where owner Robert Kraft watched closely. It was unusual to see Kraft so close to a group during a drill.
Whether the team had more coaches than during Bill Belichick’s tenure or there were more scouts and personnel on the field, it just seemed like there were more people on the field than we’re used to seeing.
Other practical observations
The aforementioned Judon and Davon Godchaux, who is also unhappy with his 2024 salary, participated in drills and teamwork.
One of the first nice plays on offense came when Jacoby Brissett connected with free agent tight end Austin Hooper down the seam for a gain of about 15 yards.
This was followed shortly after by a Deep throw down the right sideline From rookie Drake Maye to wide receiver Jalen Reagor, who threw one-handed about 45 yards downfield and slid into the end zone. Maye followed with a well-placed pass to rookie Ja’Lynn Polk that hit Polk’s hands in traffic but was incomplete.
It was interesting to see how much work Maye got with the presumed offensive starters, a sign that the competition between him and Brissett will give the rookie every opportunity to showcase his ability and develop quickly.
There’s still plenty of work to be done at wide receiver and on the offensive line, so it’s hard to pinpoint exactly who will go first. Calvin Anderson was first up at right tackle for most of the day, followed by rookie Caedan Wallace.
The outside cornerback opposite Christian Gonzalez used to be Alex Austin. Marcus Jones got a lot of work at slot corner.
Bailey Zappe, who was on an adjacent field to Maye and Brissett, split reps with rookie Joe Milton as team drills began.
