Patriots trade linebacker Matt Judon to Falcons

Matthew Judon (YouTube)

According to spotrac.com on Wednesday, the New England Patriots traded linebacker Matt Judon of Baton Rouge, Louisiana to the Atlanta Falcons for a third round pick in the 2025 National Football League Draft. The Falcons are the third team Judon has played for. He previously spent five seasons with the Baltimore Ravens from 2016 to 2020, and three seasons with the New England Patriots from 2021 to 2023.

Judon played in four games with the Patriots in 2023. He missed the majority of the season due to a torn lower bicep in week four against the Dallas Cowboys on October 1, 2023. Judon had 13 combined tackles (10 solo tackles and three assisted tackles), five tackles for a loss, nine quarterback hits, one safety, and four sacks. Judon’s safety came in a 15-10 Patriots win over the New York Jets.

Judon was one of seven players in the NFL to record a safety this past season. The other six were defensive end Calais Campbell of the Atlanta Falcons, Miles Killebrew of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Nicholas Morrow of the Philadelphia Eagles, Pat O’Connor of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Quinnen Williams of the New York Jets, and Sam Williams of the Cowboys.

Interestingly, Judon was traded a day before his 32nd birthday. Four times Judon was selected to the Pro Bowl. He was honoured while with the Ravens in 2019 and 2020, and the Patriots in 2021 and 2022. In this four year stretch, Judon had 224 combined tackles (149 solo tackles and 75 assisted tackles), 51 tackles for a loss, 107 quarterback hits, one safety, six pass deflections, six forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, and 43.5 sacks.