Can Patriots salvage relationship with Matthew Judon?
On Thursday’s Felger & Mazz program, Alex Barth joined the show to explain the latest with Matthew Judon’s contract negotiations.
Judon Situation Getting Better?
Parts of conversation abbreviated for clarity.
Felger: Ok, Alex, what were your impressions of Matthew Judon today? How did he carry himself on the field? What went down the field and how did Jerod Mayo handle everything?
Alex Barth: Yeah, on Judon’s end, things were pretty uneventful. Instead of walking up the steps where the players usually walk up, he came up the back way through the second practice field. Which guys do from time to time, that’s not that unusual. Brady used to do that.
Besides that, things were business as usual. He was a full participant. Today was a non-padded practice. So, to me, the stakes will ramp up tomorrow. And if this is about long-term security, will he want to do full contact? Theoretically, he wouldn’t risk injury when his contract is uncertain.
Judon more or less went about his business today. Jerod Mayo mentioned he and Judon met, and that they had a good meeting. He said, “We’re moving forward.”
That could be interpreted in any number of ways. What exactly is the path back? It would be great to get him on the field because he is one of their best players. But how do they do that after what transpired earlier this week? The answer might just be to forget about things. Right? Like, let’s just pretend it didn’t happen. At least that was kind of the vibe today.
Jim Murray: Was there more juice out of the team today? It looks like Judon is back in the fold. I saw Josh Uche say things like, “You want to be appreciated. You want to be respected. Want to feel valued? I understand the emotional component behind it.”
Alex, do you get the vibe that his teammates appreciate Matthew Judon? He’s so big of a leader that they’re pumped that their teammate is most likely coming back.
Barth: Yeah. I think there was an edge to the defense. Plus, they worked in Red Zone today, and, you know, that helps the intensity level a little bit. But it felt like there was something more from the defense today in practice.
Felger: Do you think it’s salvageable? Do you believe Judon is on the team this year?
Barth: The fact that he was back out here today makes me think “Yes.”
This might sound dumb but if you can get through one day then you can start to build back towards it. I don’t think it’s a guarantee, but I feel a lot better about it now than I did 24 hours ago.
Segment Audio
Ryan Beaton is a producer for 985thesportshub.com. You can follow Ryan at @ry_beaton on Twitter.
Listen to Felger and Mazz from 2-6 every Monday-Friday on 98.5 The Sports Hub, with hosts Mike Felger, Tony “Mazz” Massarotti, and Jim Murray “Big Jim”. You can listen live in the Sports Hub App and subscribe to their podcasts here. Follow @FelgerAndMazz on Twitter to keep up with the show!
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-OGUNQUIT
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