(Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
It’s no secret that the New England Patriots aren’t competing for another Super Bowl this season and instead have their eyes set on the future, but it was still surprising to see them trade the best player on their defense this week when they sent edge rusher Matthew Judon to the Atlanta Falcons for a third-round pick.
General manager Eliot Wolf finally addressed the situation during a training camp press conference and shed some light on the trade.
Boston Globe writer Ben Volin shared a snippet from Wolf’s media session and noted how Wolf said that the Pats weren’t necessarily looking to trade Judon, but once he voiced his displeasure with his contract situation, teams began calling the Patriots with offers.
Eliot Wolf doing his training camp press conference. Says the Patriots weren’t necessarily looking to trade Matthew Judon, but once he voiced his displeasure, teams called the Patriots with offers pic.twitter.com/AH68zWC9hA
— Ben Volin (@BenVolin) August 18, 2024
Judon is in the final year of the four-year, $54 million deal he signed with the Pats prior to the 2021 season and will be looking for what could be the last big bag of his stellar career.
He is coming off an injury-plagued season that saw him appear in just four games after never having played fewer than 14 games in any of his first seven seasons in the league.
Overall, Judon was a menace for the Pats and put up 32 sacks in his 38 games for the franchise, which is a pace the Falcons would love to see him keep up.
Judon wasn’t the only big name the Falcons added to their defense this week, as they also landed two-time Pro Bowl safety Justin Simmons to the secondary.
Wolf’s insight into the trade was pretty straightforward, and it doesn’t sound like this was in the works for a long time or there is any animosity between the two parties.
The post Eliot Wolf Breaks Silence About Matthew Judon Trade appeared first on The Cold Wire.