New item from ESPN's Adam Schefter:
Sources: Four-time Pro-Bowl DE Matthew Judon and the Patriots reached agreement on a contract adjustment that will take his original $2 million guaranteed for 2023 to $14 million fully guaranteed in 2023. The adjustment improved the original 2021 deal and will allow Judon to make up to $18M this year. No new years were added to the contract.
Sources: Four-time Pro-Bowl DE Matthew Judon and the Patriots reached agreement on a contract adjustment that will take his original $2 million gtd for 2023 to $14 million fully gtd in 2023. The adjustment improved the original 2021 deal and will allow Judon to make up to $18M… pic.twitter.com/osSrFe04P4
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 4, 2023
BSJ ANALYSIS
Well, if you didn't believe Judon was selectively withholding his services to prove a contract point, I think we all can agree that Judon got what he was looking for.
Look, the guaranteed money in his deal had largely run out. Established veterans don't and shouldn't play that game, not in the brutal sport of football. There's no way an established veteran — who is by far the best player on the Patriots — should have to play on that contract (of course, Tom Brady had to take incentives). Judon did the nicer version of Stephon Gilmore's hold-in, which got the same desired result.
It's a fair deal. Judon gets his AAV guaranteed, which is fair and still undervalued. With upside, he can get to the group just outside the $20 million AAV edge rushers. That's fair all around for both the player and the team.
The big question is, what does this do to the Trent Brown situation?
Brown, like Judon, appears to be holding in. Are the Patriots going to be as open to accommodating Brown, who has been less-than-reliable throughout his career, as they were to Judon — who has been rock-solid outside his late-season dips in production?
This could get pretty contentious - unless the Patriots have already determined they will give in.
Right now, Conor McDermott appears to be the starter at right tackle. A happy Brown would give the Patriots a chance. An unhappy Brown could lead to him withholding his services and pressing Riley Reiff or Calvin Anderson (on NFI) into starting at left tackle.
That wouldn't be good for anyone.
Judon, in many different ways, deserved to have his contract guaranteed. The same can't be said for Brown.
So how will the Patriots handle that?