Matt Judon trade grades: Former Patriots’ disgruntled star pass rusher willing to earn new deal with Falcons

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. 

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Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/matt-judon-trade-grades-former-patriots-disgruntled-star-pass-rusher-willing-to-earn-new-deal-with-falcons/

Author : Garrett Podell

Publish date : 2024-08-19 20:41:56

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