National Football League

Patriots have extended most of their stars. So how about their best player?

Updated Jul. 10, 2024 10:36 a.m. ET

The New England Patriots may not have brought in a big class of free agents this offseason, but executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf has clearly made a point of retaining the talented stars the team already had.

New England has extended a number of its best players, starting with those entering free agency. Wolf then continued by giving raises to players who were underpaid or slated to hit free agency next offseason.

The list is as follows:

DT Christian Barmore ($84 million, four years)
OT Michael Onwenu ($57 million, three years)
SS Kyle Dugger ($58 million, four years)
RB Rhamondre Stevenson ($36 million, four years)
TE Hunter Henry ($30 million, three years)
C David Andrews ($12 million, two years)
LB Jahlani Tavai ($15 million, three years)

But there's an all-important Patriot who's still waiting to get paid: four-time Pro Bowl edge Matthew Judon.

Judon tweeted on July 3 that he thought the extension was "about to happen" before following up with the SpongeBob GIF that says "aight imma head out."

Which begs the question: Head out, like leave Twitter/X? Or head out, like leave the Patriots?

So far as Judon has indicated, things are progressing in the right direction for an extension. A source told me on July 9 that the Patriots have made an offer but that the two sides are not close to an agreement.

"The money will come," Judon told reporters during minicamp. "It'll come if I'm good enough, right? If they value what I do."

That he was present for mandatory minicamp spoke to his good standing with the Patriots. It is, after all, the perfect event for players to skip in order to stage a holdout. Those holdouts incur fines that are often minimal if they lead to a multi-million extension for the player. This year, Judon decided to attend.

"Right now, I'm just gonna get ready to play," he said last month. "You kind of keep throwing tantrums, tantrums, tantrums, and then you don't come out there and do what you're supposed to do? It kind of gets old real fast, you know."

Judon was a limited participant at training camp last year, which was seen as a "hold-in." That led to a contract restructuring in which the Patriots guaranteed him $14 million in 2023 — rather than the original $2 million. In the final year of his contract, he's scheduled to make a base salary of $6.5 million.

"I ain't really trying to do that," he said of another year of camp drama. "I'm just trying to come out here and play football, get ready for this upcoming season, and put our defense and [the team] in a position where we can win the most games or be the most effective. So that's what I'm really on right now."

When looking at the Patriots' depth chart, there is really only one player who is truly elite at his position. And it's Matthew Judon. Dugger, Onwenu and linebacker Ja'Whaun Bentley are all excellent players at their respective positions, but they don't have the star power that Judon has.

In 2022, Judon recorded 60 tackles and 15.5 sacks, his most in a single season. He also recorded two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and three pass breakups. Pro Football Focus credited him with 17 sacks and 69 pressures.

So what's the holdup on an extension?

Well, Judon suffered a biceps tear in Week 4 of 2023. That's a major injury that could influence his performance level, especially when you consider he turns 32 in August. But the injury was the first major one of Judon's NFL career. He has otherwise missed just four games in the seven seasons prior to 2023. He's an iron man. Still, the Patriots might be hung up on that injury — and factoring it into their calculations. Judon no doubt wants to look past it and secure the cash he deserves as much or more than the rest of his recently extended teammates.

It's likely as Judon indicated: It's only a matter of time.

When that signature hits the dotted line, the Patriots will have kept their core happy as they attempt to rebuild around quarterback Drake Maye, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. These extensions feel a bit like the team's effort to buy back the locker room, which seemed discouraged and distraught in the final year of Bill Belichick's tenure. For now, the Patriots players are feeling good about Wolf and new coach Jerod Mayo's leadership.

"The vibes are way better," receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster said in June during organized team activities.

Drew Bledsoe's advice to Patriots rookie QB Drake Maye

The problem with the Patriots' roster — as they've constructed it — is that they seem to have lost as much talent (in free agency) as they've brought in (through the draft). They were a 4-13 team in 2023. We'll have to check back on the vibes in Week 6 after New England plays at the Bengals, vs. the Seahawks, at the Jets, at the 49ers, vs. the Dolphins and vs. the Texans. It might not be pretty. They might be on their way to the top of the draft, yet again.

That's when they'll need leaders like Judon to keep the locker room in check. That's when they had better be certain he's happy.

Prior to joining FOX Sports as the AFC East reporter, Henry McKenna spent seven years covering the Patriots for USA TODAY Sports Media Group and Boston Globe Media. Follow him on Twitter at @henrycmckenna.

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