Giardi: Matthew Judon's frustration with the Patriots boils over at practice

FOXBOROUGH - The pads went on for the first time at Patriots training camp, but the most significant blows - metaphorically - weren't landed in between the lines, but during animated discussions between Matthew Judon and his superiors, head coach Jerod Mayo and, later, both GM Eliot Wolf and one of his henchmen, Matt Groh.

Judon said all the right things less than a week ago. He admitted not getting a contract extension or a raise bothered him, but he signed the deal and said he would honor it.

That changed late Monday morning, and from what I can gather from talking to league sources, Judon's frustration bubbled over because the two sides remained far, far, far apart on any modifications to the deal.

The 31-year-old (he turns 32 on August 15th) came to practice without his helmet or any pads on. Once the session started, the disgruntled edge rusher sat on a trash can watching drills. Mayo approached him, and after a brief and animated conversation - at least from Judon's side -  the two walked toward the sideline, where Judon once again plopped down, this time on tackling dummies, while Mayo stood next to him, continuing the discussion that lasted somewhere around 10 minutes in length. None of it looked pleasant. Judon left the field - perhaps told to leave by Mayo? - only to return 20 minutes later, making a beeline to Wolf and Groh. The player had his back turned to us but appeared to be doing most of the talking, again animately.

This takes me back to something Mayo said just three days ago. The first-year head coach was asked if he was concerned that having a disgruntled player speaking out - as both Judon and Godchaux have done this summer - could undermine Mayo or management's authority.

"No, no. Look, I'm good with it. I don't want to put a cap on it. If the guy feels a certain type of way, he has that privilege to come out here and tell you guys how he feels," Mayo said. "I have to respect it no matter what. At some point in time, there's going to be a player that comes up here and says, 'You know what, I hate Coach Jerod' or, 'I hate Mayo.' That's how they feel, and I respect that. I know we want to keep as much stuff in-house, but there will be times they come out here and express themselves. I think it's good."

The incident with Judon would have been better served away from cameras or reporters' eyes. Dozens of contract issues became contentious during the previous regime, but most — not all — remained behind the scenes. This was front and center with arguably your best player and certainly your most decorated. No doubt, it was calculated on Judon's part. His going-along-to-get-along stance didn't move the needle. This almost certainly will, in one way or another.

Meanwhile, this was all happening against the backdrop of Davon Godcahux's super-agent Drew Rosenhaus and his brother Jason, having a long talk in the family section with Groh and, later, Robyn Glaser, executive vice president of football business. Per league sources and partially confirmed by Godchaux earlier this week, there have been open, active discussions between the two, if not fruitful yet.

"It's been a lot of back-and-forth," said the nose tackle Friday. "Hopefully, we can get something done, but it's definitely been a negotiation. Definitely a lot of back and forth. Definitely hasn't been a standstill process. But hopefully, we can get something that meets both our criteria, and we both are happy."

Unlike Judon, Godchaux participated fully in practice, although he didn't appear to have leg pads on. After conducting a hold-in during mandatory mini-camp, the 29-year-old has been in the middle of the action on four of the five days of work, only missing time with what Mayo called some soreness one day last week.

The Rosenahus agency has had a terrific relationship with the Pats over the years, although the head decision-maker, Bill Belichick, is no longer with the team. Godchaux himself set the parameters for what he's looking for financially, citing the deals given to Indy's Grover Stewart (3 years, $39 million, $17.99 million guaranteed) and Dalvin Tomlinson of Cleveland (four years, $57 million, $27.5 million guaranteed).