The Bears had interest in Matthew Judon, but it apparently wasn’t without some trepidation.
The star pass-rusher was traded to the Atlanta Falcons last week after holding out of training camp with the Patriots. Judon and the Patriots had been trying to work out an extension, but without one seemingly in reach they opted to send him to Atlanta for a third-round pick.
The deal makes perfect sense for the Falcons, a team clearly trying to put its foot on the gas in a wide open NFC South. But Sports Illustrated’s 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 to win in both the short- and long-term than Atlanta. You don’t need to squint too much to see why landing in Chicago could have been just as good, if not better, for Judon. Chicago Tribune Bears reporter told the Mully & Haugh Show why things didn’t work out with Judon.
“I think 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 gonna 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 they 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 undoubtedly are taking on some risk by parting with a decent draft pick for Judon. The trade did not 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.