(Audacy) The Bears had interest in trading for pass rusher Matthew Judon, but their pursuit wasn’t without some trepidation.
Judon was traded by the Patriots to the Atlanta Falcons last week after holding out of training camp in New England. Judon and the Patriots had been trying to work out a contract extension, but without one seemingly in reach, New England opted to send him to Atlanta in exchange for a third-round pick.
The deal made sense for the Falcons, a team clearly trying to put its foot on the gas in a wide-open NFC South. But Sports Illustrated writer Albert Breer reported Sunday that the Patriots gave Judon the choice between the Bears and Falcons, and Judon went with Atlanta.
The Bears arguably are in a better position than the Falcons to win in both the short-term and long-term. You don’t need to squint too much to see why landing in Chicago could've been just as good, if not better, for Judon. On the Mully & Haugh Show on Monday morning, Tribune reporter Brad Biggs explained why Judon didn't end up in Chicago.
“The Bears were definitely in on Judon, and I think where it got murky for them is what’s the situation with the contract,” Biggs said. “He’s entering the final year of his deal, is that going to be a roadblock? Because it was obviously an issue in New England. The Patriots attempted to sign him to an extension this summer, reportedly, and that just didn’t work out, they weren't able to come up with numbers that were satisfactory to Judon and his party. So, I think it came down to money.
“Draft pick compensation, (the Bears) were fine with, but you look at the situation and he’s going into the last year of his deal where he’s earning much more – it was a front-loaded contract that he originally got from New England after leaving Baltimore. So he’s got a base salary of $6.5 million this season with per-game roster bonuses that would add up to another million bucks, so $7.5 million total, and the Bears were totally comfortable with that and their pay structure for this season and such.
“But I think they had questions about is he going to play on that, is it going to be a problem? Everybody’s got the Haason Reddick situation with the New York Jets right now in the back of their mind, so that’s how that thing went down I’m led to believe at this point.”
The Falcons are taking on risk by parting with a decent draft pick for Judon, as the trade didn't come with an extension. So the two sides reportedly will spend the remaining days of the preseason trying to reach an agreement.
Reddick, as Biggs alluded to, was traded to the Jets this offseason with no contract extension in place. He’s held out in New York and now has requested a trade. Surely, the Falcons think they can avoid such a situation with Judon, but until then the move is a bit of a gamble – one the Bears seemed content not to make.