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Patriots training camp takeaways: Judon addresses contract standoff on Day 1 originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
FOXBORO – Matthew Judon has been nothing short of masterful in his contract impasse so far.
I’ve seen ‘em all over 28 seasons: Lawyer to Law, Vince to Adam, Randy to Logan, Wes to Steph to Deion to Seymour to Thomas Edward Patrick Brady.
Sense of humor is the first casualty. Then a thinly-veiled (or open) bitterness toward the team for taking advantage of them. A little bit of withholding services, sometimes. Then, in the end, they either get what they want or they get the gate.
You might get a caustic press conference. Or an “ask Mr. Kraft.”
Nobody’s done it like Judon has. Matter-of-fact. Realistic. Transparent that he’s hurt and a little jealous (even though he says he doesn’t begrudge others getting their dough). And open about the fact that while he’s not psyched, he’s got no choice but to play.
“Honestly, it’s tough going into the last year of the deal,” Judon said. “You kind of look at everybody around the league and in the building, and you see them getting deals done and worked out, and it’s tough to not be envious or jealous and stuff like that.
“But I have to focus on myself. I’m happy for those guys. As much as everybody wants to see me stay around here for a long time, it’s really not up to me. You have to ask those guys who are making those decisions.”
It’s a little unseemly for Judon to point out the pay bumps so many of his teammates got this offseason. The biggest ones – Mike Onwenu’s, Christian Barmore’s, Rhamondre Stevenson’s, Kyle Dugger’s – went to guys who were picked in the sixth, second, fourth, and second rounds respectively. This is the big-money, second-contract for all of them.
Onwenu made about $5.5 million in his first four years before getting his $57 million deal in March. Judon’s made $66 million so far.
Be that as it may, Judon – who’s in line to make a max of $7.5 million this year…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/patriots-training-camp-takeaways-judon-011338109.html
Author : NBC Sports Boston
Publish date : 2024-07-25 01:13:38
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