Matthew Judon Drama Has Patriots In Uncharted Territory
The Patriots have dealt with many contract disputes over the years, but none ever reached the point in which star players pulled off a stunt in front of fans, media and their teammates… until Monday.
Matthew Judon’s contract frustrations boiled over to an uncomfortable point prior to New England’s first fully-padded practice of training camp, as he was sent off the field by Jerod Mayo following a lengthy conversation in which the two got pretty animated.
Judon, despite having previously participated in practice, clearly reached a boiling point at some point over the weekend and decided to make a change.
The 31-year-old wore street clothes and sat atop a stack of pads — and later a trash can — as he watched practice from afar. Mayo clearly didn’t like the public display, leading to the eventual departure of his star player from the day’s proceedings.
NESN’s Keagan Stiefel was in attendance Monday, and joined George Balekji and Travis Thomas on “Boston Has Entered The Chat” to discuss the awkward and uncomfortable events down at Gillette Stadium.
“The Patriots could have taken a step back and tried to deal with this behind the scenes, but they didn’t do that,” Stiefel said. “I think it’s a bad look for everybody involved. Jerod having to go and have that conversation, clearly feeling that something wasn’t communicated off the field correctly to where Judon would do this wasn’t a good look.”
“I think part of this that hasn’t been brought up yet is the fact Davon Godchaux’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, was at practice today,” Stiefel said. “He was standing with family and friends, talking with Matt Groh while the players were stretching… so the optics of the situation definitely aren’t a good look for anyone involved with the Patriots.”
Did Rosenhaus’ presence drive Judon to the point in which he wanted to make a statement? Is it just a matter of Judon looking to avoid injury while he seeks a new contract? Either way, it was a bad look for all involved.
“I can say this,” Stiefel concluded. “This wouldn’t have happened on Bill Belichick’s watch.”
You can check out “Boston Has Entered The Chat” on YouTube or Spotify.