Report: New England Patriots to trade Matthew Judon to Atlanta Falcons

The New England Patriots are finalizing a trade that will send Pro Bowl pass rusher Matthew Judon to the Atlanta Falcons. According to NFL insider Jordan Schultz, the deal is in the final stages and expected to be finished soon. Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network says that the Falcons are trading a third-round pick for Judon.

Judon has been with the Patriots since 2021. He missed the majority of the 2023 season after suffering a bicep injury in Week 4. In 2021 and 2022, Judon tallied 28 total sacks and was named to the Pro Bowl each year. He joined New England after spending his first five NFL seasons with the Baltimore Ravens. He was named to the Pro Bowl during his final two seasons in Baltimore, recording 9.5 sacks and four forced fumbles in 2019 and six sacks in 2020.

After the 2020, season, Judon signed a four-year, $56 million contract with the Patriots. He was entering the final year of his contract and was looking to get an adjustment to his deal. During the first full-pads session of training camp practice, Judon sat out and had an animated conversation with first-year head coach Jerod Mayo, according to ESPN. It was also reported that Judon had a lively conversation with director of player personnel Matt Groh and executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf.

Matthew Judon expresses frustration with the Patriots

“Honestly, it’s tough going into the last year of the deal. You kind of look at everybody around the league and in the building, and you see them getting deals done and worked out, and it’s tough to not be envious or jealous and stuff like that,” he told reporters that day.

“But I have to focus on myself. I’m happy for those guys. As much as everybody wants to see me stay around here for a long time, it’s really not up to me. You have to ask those guys who are making those decisions.”

The addition of Judon is huge for the Falcons who have been searching for an elite pass rusher for a long time. Adam Schefter of ESPN says that the team was trying to trade for Montez Sweat before last year’s trade deadline. And during this year’s draft, the Falcons were trying to trade up for UCLA’s Laiatu Latu before selecting quarterback Michael Penix Jr. Judon joins a Falcons front-seven that features two-time Pro Bowl defensive lineman Grady Jarrett who missed half of the 2023 season with a torn ACL.