FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — The Atlanta Falcons addressed a perennial need Wednesday, sending a third-round draft pick to the New England Patriots in exchange for veteran pass rusher Matthew Judon, according to multiple league sources.
While the Patriots stockpiled more draft capital for their rebuild, the Falcons again signaled they believe they can win this season by making a significant offseason addition. Judon is a four-time Pro Bowler with 66 1/2 career sacks. He had 12 1/2 sacks in 2021 and another 15 1/2 in 2022 before missing most of last season due to a biceps injury.
Atlanta hasn’t had a player record a double-digit sack season since Vic Beasley (15 1/2) in 2016. In the last five seasons, the Falcons have recorded an NFL-low 138 sacks, according to TruMedia. That’s 23 fewer than the No. 31 team (Las Vegas Raiders).
Atlanta spent a third-round draft pick on a pass rusher in this year’s draft, adding Bralen Trice out of the University of Washington, but Trice suffered a torn ACL in the Falcons’ preseason opener Friday. While Trice was working with the second team in practice, Judon should step right into the starting lineup.
The Falcons were aggressive in their pursuit of pass rusher Montez Sweat last year but eventually lost out to the Chicago Bears, who sent a second-round pick to Washington in exchange for Sweat. Atlanta’s executives then watched as Sweat almost single-handedly turned around the Chicago pass rush. They’re hoping for a similar impact from Judon.
The 32-year-old is playing on the final year of his contract and had expressed his disappointment that the Patriots didn’t seem eager to offer him an extension. The Falcons are last in the NFL in available cap space ($3.5 million), according to OverTheCap.com, but could free up room by restructuring some of their long-term deals if they want to lock up Judon for a longer term.
Atlanta already has spent big this offseason, giving veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins a guaranteed $90 million over the next two seasons to join the offense. Judon’s acquisition gives the defense its own high-profile boost.
A fifth-round pick by the Balitmore Ravens in 2016, the 6-foot-3, 270-pounder is set to count $14.7 million against the salary cap this year.
There are two ways to look at this trade for the Patriots.
On the one hand, this is great value for a disgruntled player coming off a season-ending injury who turns 32 years old on Thursday. The Patriots have handed out extensions to virtually every eligible player from last season’s 4-13 debacle, but drew the line with Judon. While he had been their best player for long stretches over the last three years, it’s hard to see how a 32-year-old with injury risks fits into the long-term plans for a rebuilding team.
On the other hand, an already-bleak Patriots outlook in 2024 now gets a bit more grim. Without Judon last season, the Patriots’ pass rush struggled. Only Christian Barmore notched more than five sacks. But now Judon is gone and Barmore is out indefinitely after a blood clot diagnosis. So the Patriots’ pass rush could be in store for a tough season. And that’s on top of mighty struggles from the offense this training camp, painting a potentially bleak scene for 2024.
That said, the Patriots’ goal isn’t to be as good as possible this season, but to rebuild for the future. And in this case, that means shipping off a frustrated veteran for a Day 2 draft pick.