Judon himself supplied a discouraging replace final week. The veteran posted on X that he doesn’t suppose an extension is “about to occur” (per Dakota Randall of ProFootballNetwork.com). Additional, Boston Sports activities Journal’s Greg Bedard mentioned that “there are a few huge contract points” which will stem from the entrance workplace’s resolution handy Christian Barmore a brand new $92M deal, with Bedard seemingly pointing the finger at Judon (by way of Randall).
On the flip aspect, Mike Jurecki of Arizona Soccer Day by day lately hinted that Judon may signal the league’s “subsequent huge contract.” The four-time Professional Bowler has additionally continued to precise curiosity in persevering with his profession in New England, and the 31-year-old has been an lively free agent recruiter on social media.
In different phrases, it doesn’t appear to be anybody has any concept how this can play out. On the very least, Judon doesn’t intend to make his contract standing a distraction. Final 12 months, the participant staged a hold-in earlier than coming to a short lived decision with the Patriots, however the participant has since admitted that his negotiation tactic was “trash.” With the upcoming free agent hinting that he gained’t observe an analogous path this 12 months, the Patriots may merely let Judon play out his contract earlier than revisiting a long-term deal subsequent offseason.
In fact, this might be the proper time for the group to pounce. After compiling 28 sacks by his first two seasons with the Patriots, Judon was restricted to 4 sacks in 4 video games earlier than struggling a season-ending bicep damage in 2023. With the 2024 marketing campaign representing Judon’s age-32 season, the Patriots may cite the participant’s age and up to date damage as a cause for a reduced extension. Plus, whereas Judon is barely set to earn $7.5M in 2024, he’s linked to a $14.6M cap cost, so any extension may assist the group scale back that quantity for the upcoming season.
Past the straightforward resolution to increase Judon, the 2 sides would clearly should decide on a worth. Judon would most likely be hard-pressed to garner a $22M common annual worth, a mark that might push him into the highest 10 amongst pass-rushers. Von Miller received a $20M AAV from the Payments forward of his age-33 season, however Judon continues to be unlikely to generate that sort of cash and time period (six years). DeMarcus Lawrence‘s three-year, $40M cope with the Cowboys or Cameron Jordan‘s two-year, $27.5M cope with the Saints could also be higher benchmarks. Contemplating the Patriots are armed with loads of future cap house, this shouldn’t be a prohibitive transfer for the entrance workplace.
There would most likely be loads of groups keen to offer Judon at the least $13M per 12 months, and people hypothetical suitors would most likely give the participant a greater probability at successful. The projected franchise tag for Judon is probably going untenable (between $24M and $25M, per OverTheCap.com), so the Patriots may threat the participant strolling for nothing if they will’t comply with an extension now.
Because the crew’s defensive and emotional chief, the Patriots can’t afford to maneuver on from Judon in 2024. It stays to be seen if the group is keen to pay as much as preserve him on the roster for 2025 and past.
