Patriots' Matt Judon returns to practice, teammates hope he receives new contract

FOXBORO, Mass. — After his contract situation reached a boiling point Monday, Patriots outside linebacker Matthew Judon practiced Thursday under 90-degree heat, red sleeves and all.

He participated in all individual and team drills, three days after leaving practice in street clothes following a conversation with head coach Jerod Mayo and later returning to publicly confront front-office leaders Eliot Wolf and Matt Groh on the field. Judon reportedly did not return to the facility Tuesday, which led into an off-day for players Wednesday.

In his first comments since Judon’s outburst, Mayo did not disclose whether the Patriots told their star pass rusher to stay home Tuesday or Judon chose not to report. Mayo only revealed the two have since spoken and maintained they would keep the contents of their conversation private as the sides work toward a possible extension.

“It was good. It was healthy, and I’ll always encourage those guys to come in and speak with me or speak with Eliot (Wolf),” Mayo said Thursday. “That’s what it is, and those things should happen inside of those walls.”

Mayo also declined to address a social media post made in Judon’s name Wednesday, which refuted a report the team had recently extended a contract offer. The post concluded with “don’t believe the lies,” insinuating the Patriots had leaked a false report to make Judon look bad.

“For me, and for Eliot as well, look, those are internal conversations,” Mayo said. “Once again, we always think about these as long-term relationships, whether we sign a player to a long-term extension, whether we sign a player off the street, whether we release a player. These are long-term relationships, and that’s something that I’ve always taken great pride in.

“All of those things aside, I mean, look, at some point in time, you’ll talk to Matthew. But right now, we just want to keep that in-house from our perspective.”

Less than 30 minutes after Judon’s post, news broke that the Patriots reached a two-year contract extension with defensive tackle Davon Godchaux. Like Judon, Godchaux went public last week with his displeasure over the lack of an extension entering a contract year. Unlike Judon, he participated in the team’s padded practices Monday and Tuesday, including 11-on-11 periods when players are most at risk of an injury.

After Thursday's non-padded session, Godchaux expressed gratitude for his new $21 million deal, which includes $16.5 million guaranteed.

"My wife made me realize something, you know, every time you're not going to get what you want, but you can always be grateful for it," Godchaux said. "So I'm grateful for her words, I'm grateful for my agent working that out with the Patriots, Eliot Wolf and Matt Groh. I'm glad we got something done."

Godchaux added he hopes Judon will have his own new deal soon.

"I still want to see my brother Matthew Judon get his contract. As you know, as we all know, it's a business. But he deserves to have a new contract, and we're all pulling for him," he said.

Patriots edge rusher Josh Uche, whom Judon has mentored over his three-plus years in New England, said it's "obvious" what the four-time Pro Bowler brings to the defense. Uche mentioned Judon's production and leadership since he signed as a free agent back in 2021. Judon has 32 sacks in 38 regular-season game appearances with the Patriots.

Reports indicate the sides are still far apart in negotiations. Judon is set to make a $6.5 million base salary, none of which will be guaranteed until he makes the team's Week 1 roster. The 31-year-old is severely underpaid relative to other elite pass rushers around the league.

Godchaux and the Patriots reached an agreement two days after Godchaux's agent, Drew Rosenhaus, visited the same practice Judon was a non-participant. Mayo said his deal took time to develop, and the team is excited to have him under contract long-term. Godchaux is the 11th player the Patriots have extended since Mayo and Wolf took over in January.

"Look, it’s never a — well, at least for me — it’s never been just a clean process of, ‘Alright, you want a deal? Here’s a deal. All right, we’re done.’ So, this was a little bit more extensive, but I’m happy to have (Godchaux) here," Mayo said. "I’m happy to have Davon here happy and ready to go. So, it’s good."