Matthew Judon has returned to the field.
After head coach Jerod Mayo said in his Thursday morning press conference that he was fully expecting Judon to participate, multiple reporters on the scene have noted that Judon is indeed back for practice.
Mayo opened his presser by saying he’d had a good conversation with Judon, but would like to keep the details of the talks internal.
“Had a great meeting with Judon and we’re all moving forward,” Mayo said. “I remember as a player, it’s always a difficult time — it’s always a difficult time when you go through contract negotiations and things like that. And saying that, for the rest of the team, we’re pushing forward. Fully expect Matthew to be out here today and participate in practice.”
Mayo added that he has a great relationship with Judon and the rest of the players.
“It was good. It was healthy,” Mayo said of his conversation with Judon. “And I always encourage those guys to come in and speak with me or speak with Eliot [Wolf] and that’s what it is. Those things should happen inside of those walls.”
Mayo was asked about Judon not being at the facility on Tuesday and whether or not it was a team-driven decision, but the head coach declined to get into it.
“I’m not ready to talk about that right now,” Mayo said. “What I will say is we gave the guys the day off yesterday to come out here today and be energized. And once again, we fully expect every player to come out here and participate and get better.”
Mayo also declined to address the reporting — which Judon disputed — that New England had offered the edge rusher a contract.
“For me and for Eliot as well, look, those are internal conversations,” Mayo said. “And, once again, we always think about these as long-term relationships — whether we sign a player to an extension, whether we sign a player off the street, whether we release a player, these are long-term relationships. And that’s something that I’ve always taken great pride in. All of those things aside, look, at some point in time, you’ll talk to Matthew. But right now, we just want to keep that in house — from our perspective.”
Judon, 31, is entering the last year of his current contract. He is set to make $6.5 million in base salary, though it is not guaranteed. He’s recorded 32.0 sacks for New England in 38 games over the last three seasons.
