Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots 2024 Contract Extensions: Davon Godchaux, Rhamondre Stevenson, Matthew Judon

Episode Date: June 26, 2024

While the New England Patriots continue to enjoy a brief break prior to the start of training camp, fans and media continue to wonder whether the Pats will extend the contracts of a pair of key defenders. Host Mike D’Abate is joined by Thomas ‘Murph’ Murphy as the duo discuss the desire for Davon Godchaux to be extended, the impact of the Rhamondre Stevenson extension, and whether Matthew Judon may be next in line his extension. #nfl #patriots Find and follow Locked On Patriots on your favorite podcast platforms:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1c5ZxFm...Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/locked-...And follow host Mike D’Abate on X, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the New England Patriots and talking with fans — @mdabateNFL Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! eBay MotorsFor parts that fit, head to eBay Motors and look for the green check. Stay in the game with eBay Guaranteed Fit at eBayMotors.com. Let’s ride. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply. GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms Apply. FanDuelFanDuel, America’s Number One Sportsbook. As playoffs wind down, the sports stop sporting like we want them to. But this summer, FanDuel is hooking up ALL CUSTOMERS with a boost or a bonus, DAILY! That’s right, there’s something for everyone, every day, all summer long! Visit FANDUEL.COM/LOCKEDON and add a big win to your summer bucket list! FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)

Will Devon Godshaw be heading to New England Patriots training camp with a brand new deal? Stick around, you're about to be locked in to the Locked On Patriots podcast. You are Locked On Patriots, your daily New England Patriots podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello to all of you, Foxborough faithful, and thank you once again for making Locked On Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage. Don't forget, Locked On Patriots is not only a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day, but we're also free and available on all platforms, including YouTube.

So smash that subscribe button and download and follow Locked On Patriots wherever you get your podcasts to ensure that you're getting the latest episode as soon as it's available. I'm your host, Mike DeBate. I cover your New England Patriots for the Patriots country. So reach out to me and let me know what's on your mind on X at M-D-A-V-A-T-E-N-F-L. And while you're out there showing some social media love to Lockdown Patriots, please

follow our account there as well at LO underscore Patriots. And Pats fans, today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Make every moment more. Even though the playoffs are now in the rearview mirror, this summer FanDuel is hooking up all customers with

a boost or a bonus daily. That's right. There's something for everyone every day all summer long. Visit FanDuel.com to get started. And Pats fans, thank you for joining us here today. A bit of a summer break going on with our Locked On show,

but bottom line, we are happy to be back with you, and we brought the big man to do it, our good friend Thomasphy along for the ride today because murph there is a lot to talk about in patriots nation and it centers around keeping core guys here and we're keeping our core guys here in new england because he is the legendary man himself the count of murphy fisto thank you for coming to me in friendship today and helping me along with these contract discussions on murph oh happy to be here man happy to be here it's always always a pleasure to have a sit down here with my with my paisan mike absolutely yeah we'll uh we'll keep this to a minimum we got a little pellegrino and we'll be all set and everything will be ready to go but

bottom line folks contract extensions are the talk of the town in New England. Certainly a new era when it comes to extending running backs, Murph. Not something that Bill Belichick and the Brain Trust up there for a couple of decades did all that much of. But bottom line, New England is keeping its core guys intact. Gerard Mayo and Elliot Wolfe, they are making good on that decree. And one of our good friends, our good business associates, Ramondre Stevens, is not only looking fantastic, he always looks fantastic, but he's feeling fantastic after signing a pretty good contract extension last week. Murph and I are going to talk about that extension and what it means for the fantastic opportunities it may open up for the New England

Patriots offense and who might be next on the horizon for a potential contract extension? But Murph, we're going to start today with the big man in the middle. Not necessarily on the offensive side of the ball. We do a lot of talk of offensive line, big round men up front. But we're going to talk one of the biggest and the baddest on the defensive line. And that is Devon Godshaw. Right now, as the situation stands, Devon was basically what you would probably call a hold-in

at Mandatory Minicamp. We called him that two weeks ago. Exactly. Showed up all three days, did not participate, but was there. He cannot be fined for not showing up. But it's clear that he is looking to expound upon a deal right now that is set to pay him $8.3 million in 2024. That's according to Over the Cap.

And, of course, that's been confirmed by our good friend and our legendary business partner, Miguel Benzon. But, once again, none of this is guaranteed. He's looking for a little security, folks. No one can blame him. He has done everything the Patriots have asked him to do since walking through the doors here in Foxborough and then some. Yep. So most of Patriots Nation has been wondering whether or not he and the Patriots can get something done prior to training camp or maybe even during training camp. Our good friend and business partner, PFN's Dan Kelly, took to Twitter on Monday night or X or

whatever you happen to call the app these days and had a question for Devon and asked him kindly to weigh in on whether or not he believed he was going to receive a contract extension or whether or not that contract talks could possibly amp up between he and the Patriots in a couple of days. And lo and behold, Devon answered him. He quote tweeted and said the following, and I'm quoting directly now from Devon Godshaw's response to Dan Kelly. That is quote,

hopefully we can get something done. That's fair to me and my team before camp starts. I love new England. I would love to retire here, but it has to make sense for us. What I do on the football field in the trenches, most of the time doesn't show on the stat sheet, turn on the film and you will see if you know ball would love to finish my career here in new England, but it has to make sense to me and my team. And of course if you know Ball. Would love to finish my career here in New England,

but it has to make sense to me and my team. And, of course, you know, he's referring to, obviously, not just his professional team, but also personally his family. You can never ask more from a player than that. That's exactly what Devon feels he's entitled to. And, again, Murph, everything the Patriots have asked him to do, he's done. So when you look at this situation and you look at what Devon had to say, does this make you more optimistic or more pessimistic that a deal can get done

between now and the opening of training camp in late July? I'm optimistic that something will get done. At the end of the day, I mean, you also heard what Gerard Mayo had to say about this situation. He said that he wouldn't call it a hold-in, but, you know, there are guys that obviously want to redo their contracts, stuff like that. And I'm quoting right from what he said, and it's not just Gottschalk. There's a bunch of guys who want to do those things. He also said that, you know, one thing I've learned is sometimes the value that a team has on a person is a little bit different than the value the market has on a person. I didn't like that. You know, you could take that one way or the other. He said these

are things that he's just learning. He's not just learning this, people. He's been a player in this league. He knows that there's a difference between what a team values you at and what the market values you at. And so that gives me a little bit of pause. But, yeah, I am hopeful that they can get things done. And and it's it's something that I believe needs to get to get done. As we said before, you know, Belichick has called Gottschall one of the best defensive linemen in the NFL. That's because he does know ball, people. He does know ball.

And what they need to do is tweak this contract in a way that's going to keep Devin in this Patriots uniform for at least the next three years. You know, is he a top-tier defensive tackle? I'm not sure that I would do that. I'm not sure that I would go the way of Bill Belichick. But, you know, this is a man that has started all but one game since he came here, okay?

He is the best run-stuffer on this team. All right. He is the only nose tackle on this team. You go and you look at the depth chart, he's the nose tackle. He's the man. And you know, when, and that's something that, that does not often show up on the stat sheet. He's the guy up there taking on two offensive linemen while somebody else goes and grabs the sack, while somebody else goes and gets to the running back. But it's imperative that you have this type of person on your team. And I'm not going to speculate too much on what this contract extension should be, but I think it should be a two-year extension.

You know, I feel like $8 million a year is about right. It comes down to the guaranteed money. I'm glad that you mentioned that because I think that's the essence to this entire argument. I don't necessarily think that Devon is unhappy with making approximately $8.3 or $8 million a season. I think he's pretty satisfied with that. I think it's just about the guarantee at this point and the number of years remaining on his contract. So that way he knows he's got the security to be able to do what he wants financially. It's important to players. It's important to everyone in every walk of life.

But we're talking larger amounts here when we're talking professional athletes. And i know a lot of people are going to point to it and like you said say well is he a true nose is he this yes he is he absolutely is devon is such a great fit when it comes to the new england patriots and their two gapping schemes and especially the last couple of years we've seen that this is a guy that can take on the double team i'll say a little bit more about that in a moment but when you look at him individually and you look at his individual skill set most people would look at him and say okay well he's going to thrive in a four technique role or maybe even you know a five technique role maybe some three he's versatile he can pretty much do it all but the thing that i really love about what the patriots have done with him is utilizing

him to take on the double team and that's where you see his true value that allows the linebackers the edge rushers to get the chance to keep opposing quarterbacks uncomfortable it allows the Patriots up front to be able to fully defend the run and you've seen them make such leaps and bounds from a couple of years ago when the Achilles heel to this Patriots defense was stopping the run. It's something they just simply could not do. They're a top three defense at stopping the run last year. So Devon Godshaw has really come forward and really helped this team make that move to the next level. His versatility, his abilities right there on film.

I completely love what he said about watching the film. If you know ball, you'll see where my value is. And that's exactly what Bill Belichick was talking about a couple of years ago when he called him one of the best defenders in the league. It's the little things that you don't see on the stat sheet that may not make social media highlight reels, but it's something that is so important to the way this team defends. So he's got a lot of leverage there when it comes to his value to this team. The question is, is his value in line with where Elliot Wolfe and Gerard Mayo are talking right now? Mostly Wolfe, because I mean, Mayo has said that he tries not to get too much into player contracts.

He leaves it to Elliot and the brain trust. But, you know, he's going to have some say in this as well. This is Gerard's area of expertise. He was an exemplary defender when he played here in New England. So he knows a thing or two about defense. You know he knows the value of Devon Godshaw. It's going to be whether or not the Patriots are willing to guarantee him money for the future. And that leads me quite nicely into my final question for you on Devin for the day. And that is whether or not you think his comments may have tipped the hand of the

Patriots a little bit more. Do you think by him mentioning this, that's a signal that these discussions were taking place and they were taking place at a pretty good clip? Or do you think this was kind of like a little bit of a wake-up call for the Pats saying, hey, I'm here, I'm ready to negotiate, call me because my phone's not rinking and it should be? Yeah, I think the latter. You know, he did his hold in and now he's just putting another layer on top of that. Now, listen, folks, are you getting Vince

Wilfork here? You know, no, you're not. But he's not asking for, you know, that type of money from what I believe. I just know that you're not getting Albert Hainsworth either. Okay. You know, you're going to, you're going to pay this man. He's going to go out there and he's going to earn every dime that you give him where there's two year extension, where there's three year extension, eight, $9 million a year. That's not a lot to ask for somebody who comes to work every Sunday. Very good point. Very, very good point. And again, you mentioned, and we've both mentioned the importance that he has to that front seven and facilitating that defense. It also has a ripple effect on the secondary as well. When that front seven is playing well and you're getting stopped at that first line, it makes the job of the secondary so much easier. You don't have to

fill that box up. You don't have to take that extra defender and bring him down because you've got these guys up front that are just eating up human beings on the other side of the, of the ball. Get this done. Yeah, absolutely. I agree with you.

And you know, you look at all the work that he does in the community. Devin is one of the most charitable players on this team. And that's saying a lot because there are a lot of guys that donate so much time and money to various charities throughout this region. Tip of the cap to him when it comes to that. And he's a great teammate. People do love playing with him and love him being in this locker room and being a mentor. He's a real leader of the young players.

He's a real leader here in this locker room. And that's saying something. And that's something that when you're going through the changes that the patriots are right now and and we'll we'll talk about this in a minute that the non-changes um that uh that they're going to you need this kind of stability in the locker room and i i have no issue with them giving him a two-year extension on top of this and let this man breathe a little bit easier yeah we'll see uh the patriots opening training camp their first practice open to the public announced on tuesday morning to be wednesday july 24th i'll be there i

cannot wait to see it and bottom line it's going to be a lot of fun will devon godshaw be there with a new contract in hand well folks the jury is still out on that one but murph and i believe that this is something that not only can get done, but should get done. And one thing that did get done last week was our good friend, Ramondre Stevenson. He has a new contract extension in his pocket, but the Patriots have typically not been so eager to extend running backs in the past. Why were the New England Patriots willing to make a little bit of a break from the norm this year? And why did they have to extend Ramondre Stevenson now? There is a good reason.

Murph and I are going to give it to you in just a moment when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues, a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team, every day. Locked On listeners, passion, drive, and patience is what brings home that winning trophy. You know what? It's also what keeps your ride or die alive. Our good friends over at eBay Motors have everything you need to maintain your vehicle and level it up to peak performance. From superchargers to roof racks to exhaust kits, LED headlights, and so much more. Whether you're into speed, power, or style, eBay Motors has got you covered.

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Patriots. We're talking Patriots contract extensions and joining me here today as always to kick off the week in style is my good friend, the legendary Thomas Murphy. And Murph, we talked a lot about devon godshaw and his comments recently on social media about trying to work his way out and get a contract extension well one contract extension that did get done last week was ramondre stevenson

the man who always looks fantastic on the field well now he's feeling fantastic with pats and stevenson agreeing to a four-year 36 million dollar contract keeping him in the foxborough fold for at least the foreseeable future being met with mostly positive reaction from the media uh definitely approval from the fan base people seem to like this one there are still a few concerns out there that are lingering some people are wondering you know why so much in terms of incentives? Guaranteed money, $17 million seems like a lot. The Patriots had him under a reasonable contract. Why extend him now?

Murph, you and I both know the importance of Ramondre Stevenson to this team, to this offense, to this locker room, and what he does on the field. When you look at the extension that was agreed to by both parties, why do you think it's a good move? Or if you don't, please let us know why you think it's not such a good move and what it really means for the Patriots moving forward. I believe it's a great move. I think it's a fantastic move.

It's right in line with the money that I said two weeks ago that he was going to get. They had an extra year on it, but I said between $15 and $18 million guaranteed for the deal, and it came down at $17 million. A little pat on the back to myself right there. But no, it's a tad bit surprising in the way that they've gone about things in re-signing all of these guys that they have over the past few months, especially when Bill, the GM,

doesn't do a good job, yet you're sitting there and you're giving these guys all this money, and Noma Check agrees. There's Noma Check. There's Noma Check. But no, Ramondre is a three- down back. He might not be the typical pass catching

back that you would bring in on third down, but he's a three down back. It's going to come down to health. Now, last year, Mike and I talked a few weeks ago, a couple of weeks ago about this, that Ramondre missed time at the end of last season again. But if the Patriots had been in it, we were both fully confident that he would have been out there and playing. This is somebody that is comfortable here, knows the system, wants to be here, and it sends a message to other players around the league that, yes, people come here, and no matter what they say in surveys in surveys this is a great place to play

and you want to be here now they you can go talk about um about how in the past bill has not uh extended guys uh but i mean he has he the ben jarvis green ellis uh signed an extension stephen ridley uh signed an extension here uh and of course mr white signed extension after extension after extension you know to stay here in new england so yeah it has been done before bravo i'm glad that the money is what it is and um i don't think that 17 million dollars is is too much of a guarantee for somebody that I consider one of the top 10 backs in the league. Guaranteed. Absolutely. And I agree with you. I absolutely agree with you. One more point. I mean, you can look at his numbers and see how they dropped last year,

but that specifically coincides with the fact that this offensive line was Swiss cheese. Yeah, absolutely. And of course, you also have to take into account the manner in which his season ended. I know it was toward the end of the year, but it still does matter. And running backs tend to be relied on more heavily as the weather gets poorer. I think we've all seen that. So those numbers were definitely going to go up. And Mundray's usage was only going to go up. So, yeah, there's all those things to consider without any question.

And, you know, bottom line, Murph, when you look look at this contract it's not an insurmountable contract as a result of its completion the patriots still have over 45 million in available cap space so if they want to they have the money to extend devon godshaw they have the money to go out and work something out with matthew they still have the opportunity to do that and we'll talk about those guys in just a minute but keep in mind stevenson now ranking seven among current running back contracts with guaranteed money just a little behind jameer gibbs at 17.8 with the detroit lions right still far behind the saints alvin kamara 34.3 million which is a lot of guaranteed money for running back without yeah that is that is a lot you know question about it but that's the question right now that i'm getting most often about this as well if you look at what remandre

was under contract for before he signed this extension approximately 3.2 million dollars did he need to be extended now bill belichick would have let this run out and he would have used that 3.2 to his advantage and let remondre kind of play himself into a new contract, even if he was considering extending him, probably wouldn't have done it at this point. I think there's a very good reason why the Patriots did this, and it all points to Alex Van Pelt, in my opinion. I think Alex is looking at this guy and what we've seen from Ramondre so far in offseason workouts, in OTAs, and

in minicamp. He's healthy. I think we can see that. He's eager to showcase his skill set, and that skill set in an Alex Van Pelt offense is going to make him, I believe, one of the more important pieces offensively for this team, maybe even the most important piece, because Alex Van Pelt's offense, as we've said tons of times here on Locked On Patriots, is predicated on a strong, solid running game.

Taking the ball on his shoulders for the first couple of downs, putting the defense on its heels, using the run to open up play action, take some deep shots down the field, navigate the intermediate area. And can block. Exactly. Absolutely. Without any question. And Ramondre is good in all facets of that game. So when you look at that and you look at the fact that Ramondre now can do this, I know the Patriots haven't started padded practices yet.

I know contact is not something that Alex has seen. But when you look at a player and his ability to incorporate or facilitate that outside wide zone run scheme that they want to incorporate from mundray can do it i know he hasn't done it the last couple of years but you go back to his days as an oklahoma sooner he did it a lot at oklahoma the reason bill wanted to change up offenses a couple of years ago that he was able to fit into this yeah very good point and i think alex right then and there goes to gerard he goes to elliot and he said look this guy is necessary i need him i need him healthy first of all and i think he's got that i need him at the top of his game remondre is always a competitor he's going to give 110 on every snap and i need him engaged and what's the best way to

get him engaged give him an opportunity to showcase that talent with a little less pressure when it comes to finances you take that burden off him you make him happy and all of a sudden he's going to start running and going that extra mile that maybe even he didn't know he had that to me is why this deal gets done now it's because of alex van and this offense, and also because you're likely seeing Jacoby Brissett to start the season. At some point, you're going to need to play the rookie. Drake May is going to need to see the field.

You need a running back that can take a lot of the pressure off of his shoulders. Ramondre Stevenson is that guy. So that's why, folks, the Patriots looked at that $3.2 million and said, that's got to be increased because we need Ramondre Stevenson clicking here and half of his game. Yep. That's it. And when you, and when you get down to it, when you break down this contract, it's, it's really a two-year extension. That's it. It's a two-year extension when seven for $17 million. After that, we have no idea how

much money is guaranteed on it and they could basically walk away from it. So just relax. Be glad Ramondre is getting his money. Stop trying to compare him to Syquan Barkley or whoever else who's always injured and always hurt. And just sit back and relax. How successful he's going to be is predicated on how successful this offensive line is and how they take on this new offense. And it's one that Ramondre fits in to quite well. He will look fantastic if everybody else is doing their job. Absolutely. So well said. Couldn't have said it better. And

I'm glad that you also mentioned his injury history or his durability. Yeah, there are a lot of running backs that are prone to injuries. There's no question about that. No one is saying otherwise. But when you look at Ramondre's record, other than missing the time with the high ankle sprain this season, he only missed one game, and that was due to illness. This is a guy that is durable. And if he can stay durable for the next couple of seasons, like you said, yeah, you're getting your money's worth in those two seasons.

And then you can evaluate where you are in year three and year four, and then find out if it's still worth your while to keep him on the roster or make a move. Patriots do give themselves an out. So I thought everything about this contract extension was good, including the timing. And I think it's going to mean some good things for the Patriots on the field this year. I think you're going to see a big season from Ramondre Stevenson. I joined our good friends, the Foxborough fellas, late last week as a guest on their podcast. And we talked about who is going to be the offensive MVP of the New England Patriots.

I went with Ramondre Stevenson for all the reasons that we discussed. And I think that contract extension makes it much more likely that he will play at that level. So bottom line, folks, let us know your thoughts on Mundray's contract extension and what it means for the Patriots in the comments below. Or if you're listening to this podcast, you can tag Murph or I on social media, mostly on X or Twitter or Zitter,

as my good friend calls it, at M-D-A-B-A-T-E-N-F-L or at TeamMurph207. But Murph, that leads us quite nicely into how we're going to wrap things up today here on Patriots because we've talked about a gentleman who has been very vocal about his desire to get an extension or at least get some guaranteed money in Devon Godshaw using social media as the vehicle to kind of re-engage the New England Patriots in some discussion. Ramondre's already in the fold. He's already signed on the dotted line. That is good to go, and he's ready to go. But you know what, Murph? There's another player, another notable player, another high-profile player that is very much looking for a new deal or at least

a little more financial security. He may be more worth it than anyone that signed an extension to date in a New England Patriots uniform. Relax, folks. I said he might be. I didn't say it for sure. And Murph and I are going to discuss that and who might be next to sign on the dotted line in New England when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast wraps up right here on the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day.

Patriots fans, thank you once again for joining us here today on Locked On Patriots and kicking off the week in style, as always, is my good friend, my main man, the legend himself, Thomas Murphy. And you see Murph on the screen, folks. I know we're not opening up the mailbag just yet. That's because we're expecting two more big sacks of mail headed our way. So we are definitely going to go through and wait through all of that. Mailbag Monday is not going anywhere. Newman called timeout. He did.

He called timeout. He's going to deliver some fish first. I understand, Murph. That doesn't always go well. A few returnables going in over there in Indiana, wherever they're getting 10 cents a can for, something like that. But he's going to be here later during the week for us. Absolutely.

And, of course, as Newman always tells us, Murph, when you control the mail, you control information. And hopefully we've given you some information here on your New England Patriots, specifically when it comes to Pats looking for new deals. Well, Ramondre Stevenson found his new deal, and we think it's a good deal all the way around for Ramondre, for the Patriots, and, of course, for Patriots fans who love watching No. 38 run the football every Sunday. Devon Godshaw took to social media, talked to our good friend Dan Kelly and said that he's looking and hoping to

get something done before training camp. If they don't, good need for an interesting situation, folks. So keep a sharp eye on that. We'll definitely be monitoring that in the coming weeks, heading into training camp. But Murph,

you and I both know that Devon is not the only Patriots player right now that is looking for a new deal. Matthew Judon has also been lobbying pretty hard for the Patriots to maybe ramp up negotiations. And I want to say open up because I think they are somewhat taking place, but maybe there needs to be more of a sense of urgency. So in order to close today's episode, I guess maybe you can call this Mike's mailbag. I've got a question for you, my friend, and then I'll give my two cents in just a moment as well. If you're the New England Patriots and you're looking at either Matthew Judon or Devon Godshaw as being the next contract extension that you need to sign, I think we can both go on record to say we'd love to get these

guys both under a deal, but if you had to prioritize one or the other who would be your choice for the next to get an extension into win one i'm gonna shock the world here and say devon gotcha devon gotcha all right um for all the reasons that that we've talked about matthew judan has been hurt the two years, and yet this defense still has excelled. Other people have stepped up, and it's been a top-flight defense. Even with guys like Gonzalez out, we could be looking at back-to-back years where our number one pick doesn't play.

Or sparingly. Yeah, or sparingly. But, no, I mean, I love Matthew Giugian. You talked about him being a lobbyist. He's been a fantastic lobbyist for the New England Patriots, and that should be taken into account. But if I was going to get one of these deals done and which one it was going to be first, it would be gotcha.

I would do him first. Now, just to expand on that a little bit, if we've got the time, I do think Judon is definitely in need of a rework right now. He is 31 years old, but I would tack two more years on and bring it up to, you know, the cap hit is, is I think 13.5 or $13.6 million a year. I would,

I would tack on two years and $26 million to this and bring, bring this season's contract up to that 13 million dollars i forget what you said he was due to earn it's like 6.7 or something uh right now 6.5 million 6.5 salary this year and that's that's like that's yeah that's that's wow man we're we're there's a blue light special at kmart back in the 70s folks um and uh but no i i i definitely think both of them should get done but i would get gotcha done first all right as i said before he is the only nose tackle on this team yeah he's the only he's the most versatile guy on this team and just like on the offensive line on the offensive side of the ball everything starts with the big round guys on the defensive

side of the ball it's got to start there it has. On the defensive side of the ball, it's got to start there. It has to start there. I know in the past that I've said that you build a defense from the outside in, but the pieces are there. You've just got to pay them and hope that they stay healthy. Devon Gottschall is the man. and he's shown that throughout his tenure in the NFL and especially here in New England. I'm with Bill. He is one of the better defensive tackles in this league, and get it done. Well, it's hard to argue with the logic, and I think you also have to factor in the fact that Lawrence Guy is not going to be in that lineup this year. You need savvy veterans and guys that know where you need to be. Players that have played in other systems and now have played in New England. Devon was someone that played with Miami for a number of years, and then Guy had that experience coming

over from Baltimore. You're looking at guys like Barmore and Keon White who are still kind of finding their way in terms of what their skill set is. I think Barmore is much more further along. Oh yeah, Barmore should have more further along. Oh, yeah. Barmore should have been an all-pro last year. Yeah, and I believe he will be this year. Keon is someone I think that is coming into his own. And you hear Gerard Mayo talk about how good he's performing. And the other thing is, you know,

that's why Keon White was brought in here is because of how many positions he can play on the field. He can get out there and play like Judon does. He can line up on the line of scrimmage and do all those kinds of things. But it's where this all starts as to where it's all going to finish. I understand that the team is trying to get younger, but this isn't the spot to get younger. Very good point. Very good point. And I don't think anyone would question Devon Godchaud's value to this team or what he brings to this team.

And again, I think you make a very compelling point in the interest of doing what we do. I'm going to play devil's advocate. And I'm going to say that Matthew Judon may be in line or have an equal, if not greater argument to get that type of extension that he's looking for now. Patriots defense played at a very high level last year without Matthew Judon, without Christian Gonzalez. It's such a testament to their run defense and what Devin Godshaw and guys like Christian Barmore and Lawrence Guy and all of those guys up front did to contain the run and keep teams on their heels on early nouns and prevent them from getting that type of momentum that they need. So yes, there is precedent there for the Patriots being able to play without someone like him in the lineup. But when you look at the element of what

that defense could have given you with him in the lineup right it really does kind of tilt the scales i think matthew was their most productive defender right when he went down just in four games he already had nine quarterback hits five tackles for loss four sacks and one safety that defense again continued to play at a high level but their pass rush was definitely not the same after Matthew went down. But was that scheme or was it the lack of him? Well, I think it's a little bit of both. I believe it's a little bit of both because take a look at what Matthew does

and he does well. His field awareness is some of the best I've seen in the game. And there is nothing that goes on on the field, whether it's behind him or in front of him, that Matthew Judon is not aware of because of where he positions himself on the game. And there is nothing that goes on on the field, whether it's behind him or in front of him that Matthew Judon is not aware of because of where he positions himself on the field. Never gives an offense an opportunity to get around him from reaching the corner on early downs. So you know that he's always going to be there, whether it's a run, whether it's a pass, he's going to make sure that not only himself, but his teammates are in position to be able to make plays.

His presence forces teams to send multiple offensive blockers into the lane to try to keep him from being able to do his job. That's where the brilliance of someone like a Christian Barmore comes along because he takes on that double team. He's able to utilize his skill set to be that two-gapping type of defender, just like Godshaw, just like I believe Keyon White will adapt this year, and maybe even someone like a Dietrich Weiss, who is still very much a member of this team and a part of that pass rush. It allows Matthew Judon to get after the quarterback

and be a fearsome defender that you have to account for. You can't simply say, okay, we're going to double-team Barmore, and that's going to end our problem. You're leaving Matthew Judon one-on-one on the edge, and he's going to win that battle each and every time. If you switch that and you say, okay, well, we're going to push guys to defend Judon, and we're going to make sure he doesn't beat us, then you've got someone now like a Joshua Uche that can get free and get after the quarterback. That's what you saw two years ago when Joshua Uche set a career high with 11 and a half sacks. So it really does depend on how teams are trying to stifle or neutralize Judon as opposed to where his greatest contribution comes

for. Is it being a decoy for Joshua Uche and taking the defender and allowing him to roam free? Or is it someone that just has the ability to win one-on-one and relying on someone up front like a Godshaw, but mostly a Christian Barmore who plays very well in tandem with a guy like Matthew Judon to break free and get after the quarterback? Don't forget Anthony Jennings. Absolutely, and you definitely can't forget those guys either. And look, in the middle part of that

defense as well there are so many guys that play their roles and play their roles well juwan bentley jalon tavai there are so many players that contribute to how that front seven is able to play um to me i think you absolutely need to keep those guys in place but judan seems to be one of the guys that's a constant he's always involved whether it's run whether it's passed whether it's the middle part of the defense the coverage in the backfield he's involved in it every step of the way so while i agree with you that godshaw makes a phenomenal case to be extended i think the case for judan is as equal as his it it really is and this just might be you know this might be just giving round people love to round people.

But, you know, it's, you can't go wrong with either one. But you got to, I'd like to see them both get done, especially this year when you have the money. Before I let you go, let everyone know where they can reach out to you, where they can absorb all of your great wisdom and counsel and all of your great work and what you got marinating in Murph's kitchen between now and the next time you show up here on Lockdown. Well, yeah, you can check me out on Zitter at TeamRef207. You can read me over at DieHardBostonSportsman.com. I'm working on a little piece right now about the Red Sox front office and whether the recent

success of this 8-2 run that they're on is throwing a monkey in the wrench, you know, as to whether or not what they're going to do at the trade deadline and or just sit back and say, oh, no, we got guys coming back. We don't need it, folks. If you think offensive line talk with regarding to the Patriots gets Mercer up, wait until you hear him go off on Red Sox ownership and their commitment to spending money to make this team competitive. Yeah, I would definitely highly recommend it, folks. Anytime Merce puts pen to paper

or voice to microphone, it's appointment listening, appointment viewing, and you're entertained and you'll learn more. You can't ask for more. So keep a sharp eye on that Friday. And once again, we are honored, humbled, and thrilled to have him here on Locked On Patriots each and every week, multiple times a week, as many times as he wants to stop by. We will roll out the red carpet for our good friend Murph.

Or I guess in this case, it'll be a green carpet. But still, you know the drill. We're definitely going to welcome him back. And folks, we welcome you all back this week because we are just scratching the surface. Training camp previews, more contract talk, Patriots evaluations, roster bubbles, all that talk and more. So on behalf of my good friend, the Count of Murphy, Fisto himself, the legendary Thomas Murphy, I'm Mike DeBate reminding you all to stay safe and to stay well and to be the change you wish to see in the world. Have a great day, everyone, and we'll see you back here again tomorrow on Locked on Patriots.