The New England Patriots are entering their first real season with the cloud that overshadowed the franchise’s incredible dynasty now lifted.
Sure, Tom Brady leaving for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and winning a seventh Super Bowl was the first major step in a full-fledged rebuild for a team that reached the playoffs every season from 2001 to 2019. During that period Bill Belichick led the Patriots to nine Super Bowls, winning six of them.
For nearly two full decades, the New England Patriots were the most unstoppable, dominant franchise in the
NFL, year after year without fail.
But while Brady headed South and added another Super Bowl ring to his collection in 2020, the Patriots missed the playoffs for the first season since 2002 They attempted to revive Cam Newton’s career in a failed experiment and finished (7-9).
So Belichick and company attempted to strike on Brady’s successor by drafting former Alabama QB Mac Jones in the first round and he showed promise, leading the Patriots back into the playoffs with a (10-7) record. Many believed Jones would build on that rookie campaign but Jones regressed in 2022, finishing with 14 touchdowns, 11 interceptions and a QBR of just 38.4.
Jones started for the New England Patriots in 11 games last season, but the Pats lost in nine of those games. Jones was benched several times throughout the year, but his final game in New England was on Nov. 26 against the Giants.
Fast forward to July of 2024 and the Patriots look completely different than they did last year or the previous few seasons. There’s no Brady. Now Jones is gone. But most notably, Belichick won’t be the team’s head coach for the first time in 23 years.
Former Pats star linebacker Jerod Mayo — who served as a defensive assistant under Belichick — is now leading the charge and putting his stamp on the team’s culture.
As of now, it’s impossible to put expectations on New England because Mayo is a first-year head coach and there are so many unknowns. The team drafted UNC QB Drake Maye with the third overall pick back in April, so they are banking on the young gunslinger to play as well as they hoped Jones would.
The team is young, unproven and filled with uncertainty, yet there’s a subtle optimism surrounding Mayo and the players’ connection with the former NFL star.
While the team has made a youth movement and changed the roster significantly this offseason, but even before, Matthew Judson is one of the players that experienced the glory days of the franchise. He has been with the team since 2016, meaning he’s won two Super Bowls and reached another but lost it.
The dynamic linebacker reached four-straight Pro Bowls a had a breakout year in 2022 with 15.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. Judon went down with a biceps injury in Week 4 against the Dallas Cowboys. While there was some initial optimism that he might be able to return down the stretch, he eventually was forced to spend the remainder of the season recovering — a process that continued to extend into the offseason.
New England Patriots Star Matthew Judon Hints That He’s About To Get Traded With Cryptic Tweet
Judon was off to another hot start last season with four sacks in as many games, but his season was cut short.
The Pats veteran LB says his recovery has gone well.
“Comeback going good,” Judon said last week on Goor Morning Football. “Me and my trainers Nick and Dan in Dallas, we’re just working hard to get back all the strength and flexibility. And we’re there now. It’s been a long time. So for that, I’m doing well.”
The issue is the New England Patriots may be on the cusp of making a drastic decision when it comes to Judon and apparently he knows it.
With Patriots in the early stages of a rebuild, many wonder if the new regime will trade Judon and maximize their return before Week 1.
The soon-to-be 32-year-old Judon fueled those trade rumors when he posted a GIF of SpongeBob SquarePants stating, “Ight Imma head out.”
— Matthew Judon (@man_dammn) July 3, 2024
Considering he’s entering the final year of his deal, the Patriots trading him to a contender as they continue to rebuild actually makes sense.
In the 2021 offseason, the New England Patriots signed Judon to a four-year contract worth $56 million
