5 Super Bowl contenders who must land Matthew Judon with Patriots listening to offers

The New England Patriots may have no choice in the matter. Their best player in linebacker Matthew Judon is frustrated with his contract and has been doing his variation of a hold-in throughout training camp. It has been a distraction to a struggling franchise that doesn't need any more. They need to be focused on the future and all that is to come with Drake Maye eventually overtaking Jacoby Brissett.

Knowing that the Patriots are going nowhere fast this season, I could fully understand why Judon may want out of Dodge. Conversely, I could also understand why the Patriots may be willing to move on from an unhappy player who is playing on an expiring contract. It is why the chances of him getting traded at some point this season are increasing. And then there is what ESPN's Jeff Darlington said.

While appearing on NFL Live earlier this week, Darlington mentioned the Patriots shopping Judon.

"I can tell you when it comes to Judon, we are at a point where the Patriots are at least listening to trade offers," says Darlington, h/t Bleacher Report. "They are lightly shopping him, making clear to the NFL, 'hey, we're hear to listen if you do want to trade for him.' But I can tell you also they really haven't gotten much in terms of the type of interest that would really consummate any kind of deal."

Darlington continued by saying the Patriots haven't upped their previously mentioned offer to Judon.

"I can also tell you this, the Patriots have not upped or re-offered anything to Judon since their initial offer before training camp. So it doesn't feel necessarily like the level of urgency is here to get him back to practice. To me, there's nothing imminent. Quite frankly, outside of a team stepping up and making a trade offer, it really does feel like he will likely have to play on this $6.5 million deal this season."

With it being weeks until the start of the regular season, it is getting to the point where it's now or never when it comes to making a trade for a star player of this magnitude. New England is not going to be a playoff team, barring Maye being the second coming of sliced bread. It is why it serves the rebuilding Patriots to sell high on their disgruntled asset. There are many playoff-caliber teams who would want to get him.

Let's start with a rival team that is having a beyond miserable time with its own star pass-rusher.

5. New York Jets

Hell will have frozen over if the Patriots were to make a deal with the New York Jets during the preseason for Judon. They are dysfunctional as hell and are having no luck whatsoever in getting the pass-rusher they traded for in Haason Reddick to even show up to training camp for them. Perhaps swapping one disgruntled defensive front-seven player for another could do the trick for these rivals?

I would not count on it, but getting a player with something to prove, going up against the Patriots twice annually would not be the worst idea in the world for the Jets. It has been a painfully long time since they last qualified for the postseason. While I would not say they are a definitive Super Bowl contender right now, they are very much a playoff contender, one who could be with the right move.

If not for being in the same division, the Jets can be the team to help the Patriots solve their problem.

4. Chicago Bears

This would be a lot of fun. With how good the Chicago Bears could be in year one with Caleb Williams at quarterback, why wouldn't general manager Ryan Poles want to expedite their rebuild? Even with Williams and wide receiver Rome Odunze being rookies, I feel as though their rebuild is in the latter stages, if not already over with and done. They are right there on the verge of making the playoffs.

Given how strong of a defensive-minded football history the Bears have, an elite defensive front-seven playmaker the caliber of Judon could be an ideal fit. Trading for him would not be as punitive as dealing for a similar player in-conference. By adding a guy like Judon, the Bears would be doing everything in their power to keep pace with the Detroit Lions and the Green Bay Packers in-division.

Dealing for Judon would cement the Bears' chances to be a dangerous Wild Card team at minimum.

3. San Francisco 49ers

Not to say that the San Francisco 49ers really need Judon, but this is ain't a scene, it's a got dam arms race in atop the NFC with the Detriot Lions, man. I don't know if Judon is a fan of Fall Out Boy and their illustrious body of work, but Sugar, the Patriots are goin' down! As for San Francisco they have been sitting on that pot for a while, but are they going to do anything whenever they get to the Super Bowl?

Trading for Judon would essentially be going for broke for the 49ers. They already have tremendous pass-rushers the likes of Nick Bosa and Leonard Floyd. What this would do is essentially take the 49ers defense and make it strong and powerful. It would then become Super Bowl or bust for this team. If Kyle Shanahan loses a fourth Super Bowl in the fourth quarter, people will lose their minds.

I don't blame you for being you, but you can't blame me for hating the fact the 49ers are so frustrating.

2. Atlanta Falcons

Of course, I had to put my beloved Atlanta Falcons on here. It has been a painfully long time since the Dirty Birds had a pass-rusher who was consistently worth a damn. I was in college the last time John Abraham played for this team. I am turning 35 in less than a month... With Bralen Trice out for the year and Arnold Ebiketie looking like a lost puppy out there in Jimmy Lake's scheme, go get your Judon!

In truth, I have a feeling that Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot is going to look long and hard at adding one more star to his defense. He has already brought in Justin Simmons for a visit. While the idea of trading for Haason Reddick could be enticing to some, I would much rather see the Falcons sign Simmons or trade for Judon than deal for the consistently inconsistent New York pass-rusher.

Atlanta already has a good linebacker corps, but Judon would really help solidify the edge for them.

1. Detroit Lions

For as much as I want the Falcons to land Judon, I would have to say the best landing spot for him to achieve all of his goals would have to be the Detroit Lions. While Atlanta is a playoff-caliber team, the Lions are a playoff lock. Right now, they are my pick to win Super Bowl 59 down in frickin' New Orleans, man. They need another edge rusher to take the pressure off Aidan Hutchinson this season.

As I said before with the 49ers, this is an arms race at the top of the NFC. A lot can change between now and then, but they are my picks to square off in the NFC Championship Game again. I feel that Detroit is the better team, but one that needs to take advantage of its opportunity this fall before it is too late. I am talking about them probably losing their two star coordinators to other teams in 2025.

By trading for Judon, this team can win 14 games during the regular season and win the whole thing.