Patriots

Matthew Judon misses second straight practice, and other takeaways from Day 6 of Patriots camp

There was less drama overall, but Judon's situation appears to have escalated with another absence.

By Khari Thompson

July 30, 2024

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There was significantly less drama at Patriots practice on Tuesday than there was the day before.

There was no star linebacker showing up without pads, having animated conversations with the head coach, and leaving the field before the end of practice.

But, that does not mean that things are settled between Matthew Judon and the Patriots.

Judon missed his second-straight day of training camp on Tuesday as his contract dispute with the team continues to escalate.

Here are five takeaways from the action.

Judon out, Godchaux in sweats

On top of having Christian Barmore out with a medical issue, the Patriots’ front-seven continues to be limited without Judon and nose tackle Davon Godchaux, who have both voiced frustration with their contracts.

Godchaux attended practice, but wore sweatpants instead of football pants which made him unavailable for scrimmages.

Judon skipped the practice altogether. He had said earlier in the camp that whie he doesn’t like his contract on it, he intends to play on it.

Things appear to have changed, with Judon out for two days in a row.

“We can’t really do nothing about it,” offensive lineman Mike Onwenu said. “We’ve got to continue to practice and do what we do in our positions.”

During a recent episode of the Shut Up Marc podcast, Judon said that he didn’t want to be the “villain” during his contract dispute, and added that he drew up a contract himself and sent it over for the Patriots to review. The Patriots have the most cap space in the league, Judon noted. Plus, they’ve re-signed almost a dozen of his teammates to extensions during the offseason.

The sides don’t appear close enough to a deal to get Judon back in pads at the moment. The Patriots are set to begin the preseason next week.

Plenty of work on the run game

The 11-on-11 run sessions seemed run heavy on Tuesday, with the bulk of the carries going to running back Rhamondre Stevenson.

With the exception of David Andrews, who missed his second-straight practice for an undisclosed reason, the Patriots started the same offensive line they’ve been going with for the past few days.

Rookie Caedan Wallace played left tackle, Onwenu manned left guard, Sidy Sow took the right guard spot, with Chukwuma Okorafor at right tackle while Nick Leverett filled in Andrews.

“I would say over the last two days we ran a little bit of everything,” Onwenu said. “We started doing gap schemes and blocks and power and all that so I think that’s been helping us with the play-action and the run action giving the team different looks.”

Praise for Maye from Reagor

Neither Drake Maye nor Jacoby Brissett had a particularly strong day on Tuesday.

The shorthanded Patriots pass-rush put plenty of pressure on the two quarterbacks (5-for-11 each in 11-on-11) who missed more throws than they connected on. Brissett remains ahead in the quarterback battle, consistently taking first-team reps.

Wide receiver Jalen Reagor said Maye is studying hard as he attempts to adapt the the NFL.

“He’s got a lot of arm talent,” Reagor said. “Whenever he does get more opportunities, he’s going to show you guys how great he really is. There’s a reason why he went where he went. I’m happy to have him here.”

“He’s a student for sure. He’s always talking to Jacoby learning,” Reagor added. “Jacoby is a great vet to learn from. And he’s always talking to AVP (offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt) and talking of course to us to see how we like things and certain routes where we want the ball and stuff like that. He’s a student of the game for sure.”

Marcus Jones’s role

Marcus Jones, who made history as the first NFL player since 1947 to score a touchdown on offense, defense, and special teams in the same season two years ago, says he’s focusing on defense this season.

“I’m a defensive person,” Jones said. “When it comes down to it and they want me to play offense I’ll make sure that I am ready but as of right now I’m on defense.”

Jones, who has returned healthy after missing most of last season with a torn labrum, has primarily played in the slot during this training camp. He said the biggest lesson he learned during his recovery was to take care of his body.

“The main thing is making sure my body is together,” Jones said. “The best ability is availability.”

Team takes a lap

Several sloppy mistakes led to Patriots offensive players and coaches running for the second day in a row.

Kevin Harris fumbled a handoff that was scooped up by Marco Wilson for a touchdown. Drake Maye had issues getting his timing together. The offensive line struggled to keep Keion White out of the backfield.

Plenty of things to clean up later this week.