Patriots News 7/10: Wednesday Team Notebook
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Some Patriots news and notes for this morning:
The situation with New England Patriots edge rusher Matthew Judon remains at a standstill, with the latest reports certainly not looking positive.
Fox Sports reporter Henry McKenna reports that the two sides have been in discussions recently, with the Patriots having made an offer but they’re “not currently close” to agreeing to a new deal.
That contradicts a statement made by Judon himself last month when the veteran said the two sides weren’t “far apart” during an interview on WZLX’s The Rich Schertenlieb Show.
Judon’s response came after he was asked by Boston Sports Journal writer Mike Giardi about his status for 2024 and whether or not he’d stage a “hold-in” similar to last year before the club gave him a bump in pay.
“Bro, I’m in the building right now,” said Judon. “We ain’t far apart, you feel me? You’ve seen me with my helmet and jersey on. I’m not mad.”
“So I’m trying to play football. I want to play football. That’s what I’ve been blessed to do. I’ve been blessed to be really good at it. And so playing football is kind of what I really want to do. The money will come. It’ll come if I’m good enough, right? If they value what I do.”
But that was then. If the talks are going sideways and things don’t pan out, things could change dramatically if the two sides can’t find common ground. With Judon slated to make $6.5 million in base salary for 2024, that’s a number that could see his approach shift when camp opens later this month.
Should that happen, it’s also possible the team could explore potential trade options if they ultimately elect to move on from him.
One possibility that Greg Bedard mentioned previously could be an increased role for second-year teammate Keion White, who Bedard believes could make Judon expendable.
“He’s almost immediately from the get-go in OTAs, seeing him out there, him standing up, the two-point stance, it’s extremely exciting and his development, and again, it’s not pads, but you could see the impact,” said Bedard in a podcast last month. “And just his physicality, I just love the idea of him standing up. When he was drafted, I had a hard time wrapping my head around exactly where he was going to play because he was a tweener and he was basically like Deatrich Wise’s sort of understudy and then he gained more and more playing time last year. But I think his athletic ability is his strength and standing him up and using him like that can make him really impactful and I’m really excited to see what he can do.”
“And I also think the offshoot of that is, well, if Keion White’s now an edge and they already have Anfernee Jennings and Josh Uche, and if Matthew Judon is going to have an issue with his contract, does that make Matthew Judon expendable? I think that’s a very real possibility at this point.”
As a result, it remains a key situation to watch. But given that this might be a team that’s still a couple of seasons away from getting back to where it needs to be, getting any type of draft capital to build off of for Judon, if that’s ultimately how it goes, certainly feels like it makes sense.
It’s disappointing, but times like these are when difficult decisions need to be made. For now, if they can’t reach an agreement, it feels like Jerod Mayo and Eliot Wolf might be a little closer to making a big one in the weeks ahead.
For anyone who has seen Hard Knocks, which features the offseason happenings of the New York Giants, you may have noticed that New York was very much in on North Carolina QB Drake Maye heading into the draft.
The series featured Maye’s visit to the team during the pre-draft process, with the young quarterback sitting down with head coach Brian Daboll and his staff, going over plays and formations.
Based on the clip, Maye handled it with ease. He called out the play, with Daboll then drilling him on the meanings of each word within the play call. Maye aced it, with Daboll then going over the various protections.
Later on draft day, in another clip, General Manager Joe Schoen, went over to the Patriots press box and met with Eliot Wolf, letting Wolf know that if the team was interested in making a move, he wanted to let Wolf know they were interested.
“Just, do this for me,” Shoen told Wolf after taking him aside in the back of the Patriots draft room. “If you guys are going to do anything at #3, like, move out at all – again, you don’t have to tell me your plan or anything – but if you have any inkling, just call me,” he said. Wolf then immediately informed him, “We’ve had a couple of teams call, and it’s kind of been this kind of conversation.” No terms were discussed, but Shoen then let him know the Giants were sitting at #6, while telling Wolf, “Just keep me in the back of your mind.”
Obviously, things later played out the way they did.
Still, it was clear the Giants liked what they saw. Considering Daboll’s track record when it comes to his experience working with quarterbacks, it was hard not to come away feeling even better about the Patriots’ new rookie signal-caller. It was obvious that Daboll felt confident in Maye’s ability mentally, and so far, a lot of that physical talent has already begun translating onto the field in what little we’ve seen from him early in this process ahead of training camp.
This offseason edition of Hard Knocks is phenomenal, with an incredible amount of access being granted and revealed. One bit also featured the phone call between Shoen and Saquon Barkley, with Shoen asking Barkley to “give him his word” that he’d circle back with them after testing the market. That didn’t work out, but seeing that process play out was fascinating, and for fans who love the NFL, it’s absolutely worth watching if you haven’t seen it. … The Patriots released a terrific video of new offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt, who was mic’d up during a recent practice session. One clip showed him pulling rookie Jaheim Bell aside regarding ball security. “Hey, get in the habit of busting that thing away,” Van Pelt told the rookie tight end. “I don’t want to see it out here [gestures away from his body] anymore. This ball’s too valuable in our business. So every time you do everything, it’s high and tight, alright?” There were some other great moments as well, so you should definitely check it out if you haven’t yet watched it. … Yesterday, the topic of third-down success for players was discussed in this space. Bell was key there for Florida State last year, with all eight of his third-down receptions moving the chains (8 catches, 91yds – 8 First Downs in 2023). … Doug Flutie recently appeared on a recent Games With Names podcast with Julian Edelman in a fun episode. One of the things Edelman asked him about was his infamous dropkick, with Flutie giving some insight into how that unfolded. “I’m 43 years old, I’m doing jack s**t for the team,” explained Flutie. “I’m hanging out with pom poms cheering for Tommy [Tom Brady] just to win a Super Bowl. I’m walking into Bill’s office and [Chris] Berman’s standing behind him just beaming. I’m thinking I’m getting cut. Bill’s like, ‘Can you drop kick?’ I go, ‘I can do it. I don’t know…’ He goes, ‘Well, work on it, we’re going to do it tomorrow in practice.’ In the middle of a play, Bill sees me there, he’s like, ‘Hey, if we score here, you kick it.’ I’m in the huddle trying to do the old man stretch, all that. It’s 20 degrees, I’m 100 years old. Anyway, Lonnie [Paxton] snaps it, Zach Thomas, the linebacker steps up, [Looks over his shoulder] ‘What the f**k was that?’ Lonnie looks right at him and says, ‘That’s a drop kick motherf****r!’ And then I jog to the sideline, my daughter tells me after the game, ‘You blew off Tom Brady on National Television’ [Clip shows Brady there waiting as Flutie hugs Belichick]. Tom came out for a high five, I went right by Tommy to Bill.” … Flute claims high-fives with Brady are just awkward. “Isn’t he awkward? Isn’t he awkward on the high five?” Flutie asked Edelman. Edelman agreed, saying, “You haven’t lived until you walk by a Tom Brady high-five.” Good stuff. … Former Patriot Richard Seymour is apparently jumping into NFL ownership, with a report saying he’s on the verge of becoming an owner and limited partner of the Las Vegas Raiders. That would see both he and Brady as potential co-owners of that franchise. It’s certainly a formidable duo, indeed, if it all works out. … Happy Birthday to veteran offensive lineman David Andrews, who turns 32 years old today. He’ll hopefully be a key part of an offensive line with plenty of questions this season, but his consistency up front continues to make him a player who sets the standard for all of the guys who will continue on once his time does finally come to an end.
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Great article. Interesting on the Giants/Maye and no actual offers as some in the media wrote that the pats were offered multi first rounders etc. This when teams don’t often disclose personnel trade offers. Especially deals that fall through and don’t happen.