Matthew Judon’s futile attempts to lure high-profile free agents to the New England Patriots haven’t gone unnoticed by fans or even teammates.
A New England Patriots teammate has advised Matthew Judon to stick to his day job.
Even before Bill Belichick was given the boot, Judon has tried to assume the role of New England’s general manager, sliding into the social media mentions of any high-profile free agent showing the mere semblance of desiring a change of address.
Judon’s endeavor has been literal fantasy football: over the past two years, Aaron Donald, Xavien Howard, DeAndre Hopkins, and Marlon Humphrey are just a handful of names to hear the call of Judon. Patriots fans need no reminder that none of them have donned a Flying Elvis on their helmets in recent times.
That drew the attention of X user @Chase6D, who called Judon the “worst GM in the league” due to his “0 for 100” track record. That drew agreement from Judon’s fellow linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley, who declared “No lies told,” going as far as to tag Judon’s famous account in his response guaranteeing he’d see it in a bit of a role reversal.
It’s likely all in good fun between the linebackers, who are among the longest-tenured members of the Patriots’ ever-changing roster. Judon previously referred to Bentley, a career-long Patriot set to enter his seventh season with the team, as one of the team’s most valuable leaders.
“I think with the departure of (Devin McCourty) and (Dont’a) Hightower and a couple of other guys, that he’s seen and he’s waited his turn. He learned from some great leaders,” Judon said in September, per Dakota Randall of NESN. “I think he’s becoming one of those guys that’s going to be on a wall around here someday very soon.”
“When he does talk, we listen,” Judon continued. “We focus in, we zone in. We’re not taking our tape off. We’re not thinking like, ‘Oh, it’s hot out here.’ We actually listening to the words he saying, because he inspires, he encourages us. But he also lives by them word.”