Did Matthew Judon drop a new hint about his contract?
Matthew Judon has drawn a little fresh attention on social media.
It’s nothing too controversial, but potentially a good sign for Patriots fans who want to see the star linebacker stay in New England beyond 2024. He’s entering the final year of his current contract with the Pats, which has basically been a bargain, considering his All-Pro-caliber performance on the field. But is he staying or leaving after the coming season?
If you’re a believer in reading into cryptic social media posts, it’s extremely easy to look at this from Judon on X, and wonder if he’s hinting that a contract extension with the Patriots is near:
The context, for those unfamiliar with this GIF: it’s from a famous scene near the end of the Martin Scorsese film “The Wolf of Wall Street.” In this scene, Leonardo DiCaprio’s character, Jordan Belfort, declares to his employees that he’s not leaving his company, despite being under intense scrutiny from the authorities over his shady business dealings.
Put all that other stuff to the side, though. The important part of this scene is Belfort saying he’s not leaving. So, provided with that context, it’s easy to connect the dots between this post and the idea that Judon isn’t leaving the Patriots.
It would make a lot of sense for the Pats to keep Judon beyond 2024, despite his age (he’ll be 32 years old when the season starts) and the fact that he’s coming back from a bicep tear that ended his season early. Under new Executive Vice President of Player Personnel Eliot Wolf, the Patriots have focused heavily on retaining their core players, as evidenced by extensions for right tackle Michael Onwenu and defensive tackle Christian Barmore, among several other notable signings.
Judon previously restructured his contract with the Patriots prior to the 2023 season, but it ultimately amounted to a small raise. It’s fair to argue that he has yet to be effectively rewarded for the way he’s out-performed his original contract on the field.
New England Patriots linebacker Matthew Judon (Brian Fluharty-USA TODAY Sports)
There’s little reason to believe that Judon can’t continue to play excellent football for the Patriots in the foreseeable future. On top of that, he’s been a great lead-by-example type of figure for the team, and has long expressed his happiness with playing here, despite the team’s recent struggles in the win-loss column.
All of these words may prove pointless, because Judon’s post could have had absolutely nothing to do with his contract, the Patriots, or even anything football-related. But this is what happens when posts are sent with no context. People fill it in themselves.
If it turns out that Judon was, in fact, hinting at a new contract, then that’s great news for him and for fans of the Patriots. Lord knows he deserves it.
MORE: Patriots will host at least one joint practice this summer
Matt Dolloff is a writer and digital content producer for 98.5 The Sports Hub. Read all of his articles here.
