The NFL is a business, but that doesn't mean that personal attachments aren't made along the way. That can be said of Matt Judon, the former Patriots Pro Bowl pass rushers who was recently traded to the Atlanta Falcons.
Judon bid an emotional farewell to Patriots fans and the New England area. It's clear, based on Judon's farewell, that he felt valued and appreciated by the team's passionate fan base. Judon was the team's first star in the post-Tom Brady era, and he was apparently treated as such by the fans.
"My message is I appreciate y'all," Judon told the fans during an interview with CBS Sports Boston. "All the memories and everything y'all did for me. It's not the way that we wanted, and I'm sorry that my last play was an injury that put me out for the rest of the season. As far as being fans and family, we'll always be that. I'll always be a fan of New England and Massachusetts, because they've done me so well.
"Hopefully, y'all are fans of mine and wish me success, but I wish y'all nothing but success. And I'll definitely be back to Foxborough and the greater Boston area. I just don't know when."
It's safe to say that Patriots fans will also miss Judon, who racked up 32 sacks in 38 regular season games for the Patriots. He had 12.5 sacks in 2021 and 15.5 sacks in 2022. In addition to his sack totals, Judon also had 28 tackles for loss, two fumble recoveries and two forced fumbles over that span.
As Judon alluded to, his final season in New England ended early after he tore his bicep in Week 4. That injury may have contributed to Judon and the Patriots not being able to come to terms on a new contract, which ultimately led to him being traded to Atlanta in exchange for a 2025 third-round pick.
"I don't know -- I feel like (they) just never sat down and really came to the table with me," Judon said about the lack of contract talks between the two sides. "So I think that's the biggest point. It's like, they kind of didn't know where I was at (and) we kind of didn't know where they were at.
"It was just always through text message or phone calls. We just never sat down and actually talked about it. I think that was the biggest disconnect."
While things didn't end the way he would have liked, Judon apparently does not holds any ill will towards the organization, as he plans to continue to have a presence in New England in the years to come.
