Patriots’ Matthew Judon shuts down trade speculation with 2 posts

Tony Nguyen | Baltimore Ravens
May 27, 2024

New England Patriots linebacker Matthew Judon wants to put rumors to rest. Judon is putting a stop to speculation that he is being traded from the team, per Boston.com. Judon took to social media to quell those rumors, with two posts.

One of the posts used a famous quote from the movie The Wolf of Wall Street, to highlight Judon’s desire to stay in Boston. It was a gif of Leonardo DiCaprio’s character screaming profanely that he wasn’t leaving.

Judon and the Patriots

New York Jets quarterback Zach Wilson (2) is sacked for a safety by New England Patriots linebacker Matthew Judon (9) in the 4th quarter at MetLife Stadium.
© Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

Speculation was that Judon would leave the Patriots to head to Baltimore in a trade. Judon actually played for the Ravens, from 2016-2020. He has been a Patriot since the 2021 season. Judon used a second social media post to quell rumors he would go back to Baltimore, although it was murkier than his first post. The linebacker commented on someone else’s post that suggested Judon should come “home” to Baltimore.

“Now you and me both know,” Judon responded. It made it sound as if the linebacker had never heard of a possible scenario where he would be leaving New England.

In 2023, Judon had a less productive season than usual. He finished the campaign with 13 total tackles, to go with four sacks. He played in only four games for New England, as he was sidelined with a bicep injury. His first two years in Boston were much more successful. He had a total of 28 sacks in his first two seasons with the Patriots. New England struggled to a 4-13 record with an injured Judon, and head coach Bill Belichick ended up leaving the team following the 2023 campaign.

Judon was drafted by the Ravens in the 2016 NFL Draft, in the fifth round. In his career, he has 368 total tackles. That includes 250 solo stops. He has also recorded 66.5 sacks in his lengthy NFL tenure. He played his college football at Grand Valley State.

Patriots fans are surely going to love the news that Judon wants to stay in New England. The team will need the linebacker on the defensive side of the ball this season, as the team is in rebuild mode. The franchise is now under new coach Jerod Mayo, and the team is breaking in rookie quarterback Drake Maye.

The Patriots begin minicamp on June 11, and that will give Judon an opportunity to play with the team. The linebacker has stated he will make it to minicamp. Judon missed OTAs, per Boston.com, for unspecified reasons.