The New England Patriots aren’t even close to agreeing to a new deal with edge rusher Matthew Judon. What is evident are frustrations on both ends—let’s take Monday practice day as an example. When HC Jerod Mayo walked up to him, it didn’t take more than a couple of seconds for Judon to walk off the field after an animated back and forth. But the next thing you know, the athlete appears in a podcast, talking about the old Patriots coach, Bill Belichick!

Judon decided to time travel to his fondest memories. Remember when he was signed by the Evil Empire in 2021? An anxious Judon said, “These dudes are weirdos.” It has been three years since then. The hoody era is over with Jerod Mayo becoming the obvious anchor to replace Bill Belichick. But over time, Judon understands why Belichick did what he did, and no better way to sell that man to the media, with whom the former HC has had the frostiest of relationships.

Judon, who is hoping for a contract extension, reminisced about the golden days when Bill Belichick was the head coach. On the Shut Up Marc Podcast, he disclosed why he chose the Patriots after the Ravens. He stated, “I was really thinking more coaching-wise instead of locker room-wise. I felt like I could be I could play my game wherever or I could be me wherever somewhere. Whereas a new coach, uh, that’s just not what I wanted to.”

He wanted to learn from the best, and who else could it be other than Belichick? After 24 seasons with the Patriots, he was not just a good coach. He was a living football historian, who had the ability to go on lengthy monologues if you’d ask the right questions.

Judon continued, “I was like, you know, I got the opportunity to come here. I was like man, ‘I love to play for Belichick’ you know. I love I love to play for that guy, I love to play in New England. I already knew Tom was gone, he was already gone and so I was like, ‘man, let’s let’s see, let’s see what happens.”

He proceeded to talk about his experience and gave us a glimpse of what Belichick was like. “Playing for Belichick, it was really awesome. Belichick a cool dude. A lot of people might not think of it like that because he’s so dry and he was so monotone in his interviews… but now that he’s not in that light no more, he’s showing more of his personality. He’s showing more of his charisma and stuff that he showed in the meeting rooms…”

Admit it, you’ve seen Belichick on The Pat McAfee Show and you loved it. The guy grows on you. Yes, he was dry when he used to address the media. But he had his reasons. Words get around quickly, media spins the stories even quicker and the former HC wanted to avoid this. But apart from that, Belichick got the job done. He’s the third-most winningest coach in the league and that’s what made Matthew Judon join the Pats in 2021.

Playing under Belichick did wonders for Judon. At the Ravens, he wasn’t known as a sack artist, but rather as an every-down edge defender. In 76 games for the Ravens from 2016-2020, Judon made 34.5 sacks, with his best coming in the 2019 season where he racked up 9.5 sacks. But after his move to the Patriots, he went from strength to strength. His first season in 2021, saw him notch 12.5 sacks, higher than he ever managed at the Ravens. The next season he got even better with 15.5 sacks to his name. In just 38 games over three seasons, Judon has made 32 sacks.

This number could have been higher if not for a season-ending injury in 2023. The outside linebacker Matt Judon suffered a torn biceps tendon 38-3 loss to the Cowboys after engaging with Dallas offensive tackle Chuma Edoga on a pass rush in just his fourth game of the season. Even during those four games, Judon had already established himself as a key player for the team. The only 2023 Pro Bowler on the Patriots’ roster, Judon led the team with four sacks and nine quarterback hits before his injury.

But not to discredit the Ravens, Judon did have two Pro Bowls with the Baltimore team. But he knew he had to be somewhere else to unlock his full potential. So he chose Bill Belichick and his Patriots.

“I just — coming from (John) Harbaugh, I felt like going to Belichick was only a step up in caliber of coaches,” Judon said. “That everything that’s on Bill’s resume, all the wins or all the success or all the players that he has under him, I thought it was only a step up, and I think you kind of see that in my play style, you see that in my numbers,” mentioned Judon.

Belichick also recognized the job Judan did when he came into the side. “Jude’s an instinctive player. He does a good job of getting vision on the ball and also taking the right angle or making the right decision based on where the blocker is, where the ball is, how fast the runner’s going, or what angle he’s at and so forth,” Belichick said in a November 2022 press conference after a resounding 26-3 win over the Colts.

“Those are football skills that are hard to coach because they happen so fast,” Belichick added, highlighting the talent at the Patriots’ disposal.

Everything was fine and dandy but all of a sudden, the 2023 season came. Judon suffered an injury and missed the season. To add to the woes, the team parted ways with Bill Belichick in January this year and Judon’s dreams took a backseat. So with a torn arm, he’s walking into the 2024 season, except that there’s another battle awaiting him at the training camp.

Jerod Mayo caught in the Bill Belichick déjà vu

A new season starts, players come and go, but training scuffles remain a constant. This has been the case throughout history. Mayo and Judon’s disagreement was no different. The Patriots training camp began with padded practices, but Judon didn’t participate due to an ongoing dispute about his contract. This is the last year of his 4-year, $56 million contract.

Judon was simply watching from the sidelines when Jerod Mayo intervened. Although we can’t hear what the duo was arguing about, some discomfort surely emerged from their conversation. The 4x Pro Bowler left the field but later returned to speak with Patriots Director of Player Personnel Matt Groh before leaving again.

This is Judon’s final year with the New England Patriots, and he is upset that the team won’t extend his contract. He discussed it on the Shut Up Marc Podcast, saying, “I don’t wanna be the villain. I don’t wanna be the bad guy. But, it’s like shoot. Help me out. We got the most cap [space] in the league right now, bro… and then with that, they don’t even get the money. So, what the hell are y’all doing with it. Like, y’all literally just not using it.”

The Patriots have $43 million in cap space, according to Spotrac, but are still at an impasse with Matthew Judon and Davon Godchaux. Perhaps Judon wants to remain with the Patriots for a long time.

Judon played four games last season before suffering a season-ending injury in Week 4 against the Dallas Cowboys. He tore his biceps, which has led to doubts among the Patriots’ management about whether to extend his contract. Jerod Mayo is trying to handle this situation as best as he can.

It’s also Mayo’s rookie season as the head coach of the Patriots. He mentioned that he had a lot to learn from Belichick. However, it’s been a while since Belichick and Mayo have communicated. Perhaps Mayo should reach out to him to figure out how to resolve this mess.