On his 32nd birthday, linebacker Matthew Judon surprised his fans. The New England Patriots traded him to the Atlanta Falcons. The LB wanted to stay with the Pats till the end of his career. However, The Athletic’s Jeff Howe reported Judon gave an ultimatum to the franchise to trade him if they didn’t want to upgrade his contract. But it flipped on him. And he would be playing for a new team in 2024. Now, the player has revealed what went wrong.

During his recent appearance on the NBC Sports Boston show, Judon told the host Kayla Burton that management never discussed the contract in person. He noted that the biggest disconnect was the shady communication, saying, “They didn’t know where I was at, I kinda didn’t know where they was at, it was always text message or phone call, we just never sat down. I think that was the biggest kind of disconnect.”

Interestingly, Judon wasn’t on good terms with the Pats’ management and argued with Jerod Mayo during a practice session. He didn’t train in the following sessions. That may be the reason his requests to discuss the contract weren’t granted. Yet the veteran knows the nature of the game. He is looking forward to the new phase of his career. And he knows everything won’t come easy.

Falcons beat reporter Marc Raimondi tweeted Judon’s comments about Dirty Birds. He wrote, ” The Falcons know nothing about me as a football player or as a man. They know my previous resume. I can’t really demand or ask for anything I haven’t worked for. I’m gonna work for it.” He brings 8 years of NFL experience with him. And wouldn’t take much time to adjust to the new conditions. But he has opened the Pandora’s box for his previous team. 

The Pats are already struggling to find players. They are in a rebuilding phase since the departure of the GOAT, Tom Brady. And Matthew Judon’s revelations don’t help them.

Post Matthew Judon’s departure, the Patriots working on their QB situation

Head Coach Jerod Mayo didn’t waste a second thinking about the linebacker’s trade. He has much bigger problems to solve. The biggest is deciding their starting quarterback. Ahead of the preseason, Jacoby Brissett was being projected as the favorite with Drake Maye, but the 2nd preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles (on August 15) has upped the latter’s chances. The rookie finished the game with 6-of-11 passes for 47 passing yards, 15 rushing yards, and a four-yard touchdown run. The experienced QB ended the game with only 3-of-7 passes for 17 yards and an interception. Mayo is closely monitoring his signal-callers.

After the game, the coach told reporters that he would be watching the last preseason game against the Washington Commanders. And will decide their starting QB after that. However, for the first time, he signaled that Maye could start in a few games, saying, “Right now it’s all going the right way, right direction, and hopefully he continues to get better.” And the Pats hope he gets better sooner than later.

The team will start its campaign on the 8th of September against Cincinnati Bengals. Mayo’s first mission is to take them in the playoffs. Last 2 seasons, they couldn’t qualify. He has to work smart and act fast for the revival. But will he be able to so?