FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Atlanta’s anemic pass-rushing history isn’t a concern for Falcons first-year head coach Raheem Morris, and the future of the team’s contract situations was only a slightly greater one Thursday.
Morris was focused mostly on his team’s acquisition of edge rusher Matthew Judon from New England in exchange for a third-round pick. The 32-year-old is a four-time Pro Bowler who gives the Falcons their best single pass-rushing threat since Vic Beasley almost a decade ago.
“Forget what happened in the past because none of that matters,” Morris said. “The thing you are fixated on is making sure your pass rush can affect the quarterback because that’s a part of winning football. Anytime you’ve got a chance to affect that, you can’t pass on it.”
Judon was expected to fly to Atlanta on Thursday evening for his physical but likely won’t suit up for the Falcons Monday’s practice. A former Grand Valley State player who was selected by Baltimore in the fifth round of the 2016 draft, Judon expressed his disappointment in July that New England hadn’t offered him a contract extension even though he has 66 1/2 career sacks and was one of the league’s most effective pass rushers in 2021 and 2022.
If you see the red sleeves, it’s too latehttps://t.co/4yVnQQsWkZ pic.twitter.com/JxCOrUxAhG
— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) August 15, 2024
“Honestly, it’s tough going into the last year of the deal,” Judon told reporters in New England when the Patriots opened training camp. “You kind of look at everybody around the building and you see them getting deals done and worked out, and it’s tough to not be envious. But I have to focus on myself. As much as everyone wants to see me stay around here for a long time, it’s really not up to me. I’d pay myself a lot of money and just stay around here a long time, but it’s not up to me.”
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Judon is playing on the final year of a two-year contract. Morris compared his acquisition to the Los Angeles Rams trading for pass rusher Von Miller midway through the 2021 season. Miller helped the Rams win a Super Bowl that season while playing on the final year of his deal and then signed with Buffalo the following offseason.
“(Miller) had a lot of success. We wanted to re-sign him. We started into conversations with him. Obviously, Buffalo came better, but it was a good time for the Rams,” Morris said. “You never know what these things can turn into, but I know what we’re getting (in Judon).”
It’s difficult to talk about long-term plans with a 32-year-old player, Morris said.
“When you get a guy who has the ability to come in and be a gamer right away, you figure out those things,” he said.
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Judon said in July that he didn’t want to be traded, but Atlanta officials are confident he will report to their team without any issues, according to a team source. Judon said before leaving New England that he would play on the final year of his deal for his Patriots without complaint if it came to that.
“I signed the deal,” he said.
The Chicago Bears and Houston Texans also had talks with the Patriots about acquiring Judon, a league source said. The Falcons will restructure offensive lineman Chris Lindstrom’s contract to help make room for Judon’s deal, according to a team source. Atlanta is responsible for Judon’s $6.5 million salary this season and had less than $4 million in salary-cap space before restructuring Lindstrom’s deal.
“Anytime you can add a dog to your group, that’s exciting,” Morris said. “We have excitement for that. He has excitement for that. We have a lot of players who know him personally and they are excited for that. His reputation precedes him. All my Jet friends called me last night. They’re very excited he’s out of their division.”
Anyone ever fail a physical because of a broken heart? -rod wave
— Matthew Judon (@man_dammn) August 15, 2024
The Falcons finished 21st in the league in sacks last year with 42. They drafted edge rusher Bralen Trice out of Washington in the third round in hopes of improving that number, but Trice tore his ACL on Friday night in Atlanta’s preseason opener and will miss the season.
The front office has “been talking about all types of scenarios for so long, it’s hard to say this is strictly about Bralen Trice,” Morris said. “Bralen Trice certainly didn’t hurt it.”
In 2021 and 2022, Judon totaled 28 sacks and was 20th in the NFL in pressure percentage, generating pressure on 15.5 percent of his pass rush snaps, according to TruMedia. He missed 13 games last season after tearing his bicep in Week 4 but said in July he was 100 percent recovered from that injury.
“I rehabbed the injury very hard, very intense, very focused,” he said. “I had enough time to heal myself and step away from the game of football to get right.”
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Atlanta hasn’t had a player record a double-digit sack season since Beasley (15 1/2) in 2016. In the last five seasons, the Falcons have recorded an NFL-low 138 sacks, according to TruMedia. That’s 23 fewer than the No. 31 team (Raiders). In the last 10 years, Atlanta has 289 sacks, which also ranks last in that span.
Judon and Falcons safety Jessie Bates III share a management company and have met, and general manager Terry Fontenot asked Bates for his opinion on Judon before making the deal, Bates said.
“They’ve done a really good job of bringing in really good football players but really good people as well,” Bates said. “Judon is a hell of a player but a great person as well. He won’t talk much, but he’ll dang sure help get that ball out faster. We’ll take him all day. You don’t find guys like that that just pop up.”
Morris pushed back on the idea that Judon’s addition would be an emotional lift for the Falcons.
“Have you walked around this building? There is an emotional lift everywhere for everything,” he said. “We signed Kirk Cousins. We go out and have the draft we want, get our future quarterback. We grab (Darnell) Mooney, we grab Ray-Ray McCloud, all these different players, Ross Dwelley. To say I’m shocked our front office did it again, I am not. I am loving the fact they are obsessed with bringing in talent and making us the best we can be.”
(Photo: Nick Grace / Getty Images)
