The Falcons made some of the biggest moves of the offseason. To begin, they inked Kirk Cousins to largest free agent contract of the offseason, and followed it up by drafting Michael Penix Jr., but they weren’t done.
Dormant for a couple of months, the Falcons rose from the dead a couple of weeks before the season, signing Justin Simmons and trading for Matthew Judon; both of whom fill massive holes on the roster.
Simmons’ decision was directly influenced by the Matthew Judon trade, and to make it even better, Judon picked the Falcons over the Bears, a recent report revealed. Another wrinkle of the deal has emerged too.
Essentially, Atlanta wanted Judon no matter the circumstances, but Chicago wasn’t willing to trade for him without having a contract extension in place.
“Our language is basically saying if contract’s not signed then he reverts back to New England,” Bears GM Ryan Poles said in a Hard Knocks episode, via Pro Football Talk.
Liev Schreiber then clarified: “Poles has met New England’s asking price of a third-round pick. But unless Judon agrees to a contract extension with the Bears, Chicago won’t make the deal.”
That’s very atpyical of these kinds of situations. For instance, Haason Reddick forced his way out of Philadelphia because he didn’t have a new deal, and now he’s doing it again in New York. Without a new contract from the Jets, Reddick is still sitting out of camp.
That’s usually how it goes — players wanting a new deal before accepting a trade, if they have a choice at all. Very rarely does it work the other way where a club like the Bears refuse to acquire a player like Judon because of a contract issue.
The expectation was that a deal was already in place when the Falcons traded for him. That wasn’t the case. Judon isn’t expecting to get a new contract in Atlanta.
“The Atlanta Falcons know nothing about me as a football player and about me as a man,” Judon said. “They really know my previous résumé. So, I can’t really demand or ask for anything that. I haven’t worked for. And that’s where I’ve been my whole life. So, I’m [going to] work for it, man.”
The only reason I can figure is that Judon is hoping to play well enough to earn a more lucrative offer from the Falcons or another club than the Bears offer. Betting on yourself is a risky proposition, especially as a 32-year-old coming off a season-ending injury.
If he puts together another Pro Bowl campaign, he’ll see the benefits of that risk in the form of a $25-ish million per year deal.
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Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire
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