The Atlanta Falcons have landed the cross rusher they looked for years.
The New England Patriots are buying and selling high edge rusher Matthew Judon to the Falcons for a third-round draft choose, sources instructed ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Wednesday evening. Judon had been practising after a short absence from the staff.
The Falcons and Judon haven’t hammered out a contract for subsequent season but, however plan to work towards one earlier than the beginning of the season, a supply instructed ESPN’s Dan Graziano.
Judon, who turns 32 on Thursday, is a four-time Professional Bowler who had a career-high 15.5 sacks in 2022 following a 12.5-sack season in 2021. He missed most of final 12 months with a torn bicep.
The Falcons haven’t had a double-digit sack chief since Vic Beasley in 2016, which corresponds to their final Tremendous Bowl look. Atlanta misplaced edge rusher Bralen Trice, a rookie third-round choose, for the season as a result of a knee damage suffered final Friday evening in a preseason recreation in opposition to the Miami Dolphins.
On the primary evening of the draft in April, the Falcons drew criticism for taking quarterback Michael Penix Jr., after having already signed quarterback Kirk Cousins, relatively than deciding on a cross rusher.
Judon was coming into the ultimate season of the four-year, $56 million contract he signed with the Patriots in March 2021. He’s scheduled to earn a base wage of $6.5 million, which he made clear he believed did not mirror his worth.
The perimeters could not come to an settlement, and on July 29, Judon brazenly expressed his frustration on the Patriots’ first full-pads follow of coaching camp, arriving on the sector with out his pads and watching teammates work whereas he sat on a flipped-over trash barrel. He had what gave the impression to be an animated dialog with first-year head coach Jerod Mayo earlier than strolling off the sector, after which later returned to talk with government vice chairman of participant personnel Eliot Wolf and director of participant personnel Matt Groh.
Judon missed two practices earlier than returning to the staff. Mayo mentioned Tuesday that Judon had “achieved a fantastic job within the assembly room and achieved every little thing that we have requested. He is assembly all expectations.”
Judon was a fan favourite in New England, usually taking the time to play catch with followers earlier than practices and video games.
The Patriots are coming off a 4-13 season and, led by the brand new Mayo-Wolf regime, are balancing short- and long-term concerns in buying and selling their finest cross rusher. A 3rd-round choose has worth for a staff in want of an infusion of expertise, however dropping Judon is successful to a unit that’s the power of the staff.
ESPN’s Mike Reiss contributed to this story.