After four-time Pro Bowl edge rusher Matt Judon held-in at the New England Patriots training camp while in search of a new contract, the team has decided to move on from him, trading him to the Falcons for a 2025 third round pick, confirmed by Atlanta on Thursday.
The Falcons official social media account posted, "We have agreed to terms, pending physical, on acquiring Matthew Judon from New England. Welcome to the A."
According to CBS Sports lead NFL insider Jonathan Jones, Judon will come to Atlanta without a new contract and there is "not an expectation one is imminent." Judon will play for the Falcons in 2024 on his current deal, set to pay $6.5 million.
In a presumably related move, the Falcons restructured the contract of star guard Chris Lindstrom, converting part of his $12.5 million base salary into a signing bonus, per ESPN. That move will create some maneuverability for the Falcons to lavish Judon with a new deal.
The 32-year-old Judon's 28.0 sacks from 2021 through 2022 rank as tied for the third-most in the NFL with Steelers All-Pro T.J. Watt, trailing only 49ers All-Pro Nick Bosa (34.0) and Browns 2023 NFL Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett (32.0) in that span. Judon suffered a torn lower bicep in Week 4 of the 2023 season that knocked him out for the rest of the year. Judon's 2022 sack total (15.5) and 2021 sack total (12.5) stand as the third and fourth-most in a single season in Patriots history since sacks began being tracked as an official individual statistic in 1982.
Judon's quarterback pressure rate of 15.7% across the last three seasons (since 2021) is the seventh-best in the entire league and is actually ahead of Watt's 15.1% in this span. Conversely, Atlanta's team quarterback pressure rate of 27.6% since 2021 is the worst in the entire NFL, so it is filling a significant need with this move.
Atlanta ranked 25th in the NFL in quarterback pressure rate (32.7%) and tied for 21st in sacks (42.0) in 2023, so he will be a welcome addition for a squad whose most notable front-seven acquisition this offseason was drafting Clemson defensive lineman Ruke Orhorhoro in the second round (35th overall) of the 2024 NFL Draft. The Falcons' third-round pick from the same class, Washington edge rusher Bralen Trice, was placed on injured reserve after tearing his ACL in the team's preseason opener.
The trade for Judon represents a hard-fought victory for Atlanta after striking out twice when trying to trade for pass-rush help within the past year. Per ESPN, the Falcons attempted to trade for Montez Sweat before the Washington Commanders flipped him to the Chicago Bears at the 2023 trade deadline in exchange for a 2024 second-round pick. They also attempted to trade up to select UCLA All-American edge rusher Laiatu Latu in the most recent draft after selecting Washington 2023 Heisman Trophy runner-up quarterback Michael Penix Jr. eighth overall. Latu ended up being the first defensive players selected in April after the Indianapolis Colts chose him with the 15th overall pick.
On the Patriots side of things, new head coach Jerod Mayo and executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf took a page out of New England's former head coach (and personnel decision maker) Bill Belichick's playbook by flipping a player looking to get paid into his 30s.
Judon seems to be excited about his new home, posting an Instagram story of Mercedes-Benz Stadium directions shortly after the initial reports of the trade.
With all of that in mind, it's time to hand out trade grades for a transaction where both sides accomplished what they wanted to get done for both 2024 and seemingly beyond.
Atlanta Falcons: B
The Falcons are going for it after missing the playoffs in each of the past six seasons. That's commendable. They signed quarterback Kirk Cousins to a four-year, $180 million deal with $100 million guaranteed after wandering through quarterback purgatory post-Matt Ryan. Now, they addressed their biggest remaining need (pass rusher) with this move. It also doesn't seem like a coincidence that the Falcons haven't reached the postseason since 2016 and that the last time they had a player hit double-digit sacks in a season -- Vic Beasley with 15.5 -- also occurred in 2016.
Their grade being a B- comes down to a few factors despite addressing a critical need. One, Judon is 32 years old and coming off a season in which he suffered a season-ending injury in Week 4. Two, whenever they do sign him to a new deal, they will likely be paying him in two or three years from now for past production. However, Judon did mitigate a critical concern on Monday saying he isn't going to demand a new deal before the 2024 regular season, something that was an issue when he was on the Patriots, which played a huge reason in why he was traded.
"The Falcons know nothing about me as a football player or as a man," Judon said, via ESPN, on Monday. "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."
Essentially, Judon is behaving in a mannor opposite to another Pro Bowl edge rusher who was traded to a new team while on the last year of his current contract in Haason Reddick, who is now holding out from the New York Jets offseason program and training camp until he is either traded or given a new deal. Judon happily showing up to work causes this grade to be bumped up from a B- to a B.
New England Patriots: B+
The Patriots are rebuilding, so this trade makes all the sense in the world. Why does a team that went 4-13 with its worst scoring offense (13.9 points per game) since 1992 need to be paying an upper-tier but old pass rusher a bunch of money in the immediate future? New England selected North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye third overall in the 2024 NFL Draft, and it signed Jacoby Brissett to a one-year deal this offseason to act as his mentor.
This is an organization that needs as much draft capital as possible to give its new regime of Wolf and Mayo what it needs to put together a competitive club over the next few years. The only reason the Patriots grade isn't higher is because they couldn't get a first- or second-round pick. Overall, solid work by Wolf and the New England front office to get a Day 2 pick back for an aging, injured player.
