Pass rusher Matt Judon's push for a new contract eventually led to a trade from New England to Atlanta. He's not planning on pressing the issue as hard in his new surroundings.
Asked about his desire for a new contract in his first press conference with the Falcons, the veteran suggested he'll focus on pressuring the quarterback first before pursuing a new deal.
"The Atlanta Falcons know nothing about me as a football player, as a man, or that stuff," Judon said. "They only know my previous resume. I can't really demand or ask for anything I haven't worked for, and that's where I've been my whole life. I'm gonna work for it."
While Judon might not mean to directly compare himself to New York Jets edge rusher Haason Reddick, it's nearly impossible to read the above quote without making the connection. Both veteran Pro Bowlers desired new contracts this offseason. Both were eventually traded away before getting said contract. Reddick has held out of training camp and preseason, incurring fines. Judon reported to New England, briefly held in, was traded to Atlanta, and decided not to put up a similar fight.
There's no one way to approach a contract standoff.
It should also be mentioned that in June, Judon said all the right things about playing out his contract and not throwing any "tantrums" in New England. Then, things went sideways during training camp.
After the Patriots moved up money last offseason, Judon enters the final year of his contract set to earn $6.5 million in base salary.
The four-time Pro Bowl pass rusher is coming off a season in which he played just four games before suffering a season-ending torn bicep. Before going down, he generated four sacks in those four contests. The previous two seasons in New England, he'd compiled 12.5 sacks and 15.5 sacks, respectively.
He joins a Falcons defense that has long searched for a dominant pass rusher who can create havoc off the edge.
The 32-year-old former Raven and Patriot said that even in his brief time in Atlanta, he's already on board with the culture Raheem Morris is creating.
"Coming here – and I didn't know it before I got in the building – but you see the culture," he said. "You see how Ra interacts with the players and how the players interact with each other. Even though we compete, if somebody is going down people aren't finishing them, or there's not too many fights out there – maybe it's because we're later in training camp, I don't know. But you see that the locker room is stable. ... People are mixed up in different sections; it's not just the DBs right here and you don't get that click-y, posse type stuff. Everybody's intertwined in some type of way."
