The Miami Dolphins have a surplus of EDGE rushers, but that fact didn’t scare off Matthew Judon.
The veteran gamewrecking EDGE addressed reporters at his first practice with the Dolphins on Wednesday and shared his opinions of the team and why he chose to sign there.
Judon was a free agent until Monday, when Miami inked him to a one-year, incentive-laden contract that could be worth up to a reported $6 million. He joins the likes of Bradley Chubb, Jaelan Phillips, Chop Robinson, Zach Sieler as potential pass rushers that can help Miami improve on its 35-sack season in 2024 that was just 27th in the NFL.
Judon has 72 career sacks in 131 games with the Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens and New England Patriots.
What Did Matthew Judon Say About Signing With the Dolphins?
Judon credited Mike McDaniel and the Dolphins coaching staff, plus general manager Chris Grier and front office with creating a compelling pitch for him.
“It’s been alright,” Judon said. “Even though they’ve got a lot of really good EDGE rushers, we saw a fit and coach [McDaniel], [Grier] and everybody. It just worked out.
“Shout out to the whole organization; the Miami Dolphins culture. Everybody here made it easy. It was more welcoming than anything.”
Judon is coming off his one of his least-productive NFL season with the Falcons. He had 5.5 sacks and had just 41 tackles after the Falcons traded a third-round pick to the New England Patriots for him.
“Mostly it’s about the work,” Judon said. “I had enough time while everybody was at camp to relax and views.
“Itâs about the work I put in, coming in here and hurrying up and getting acclimated with the system, learning kind of the locker room traditions and the culture that they are building around here.”
What Is Matthew Judon’s Role With The Dolphins?
Miami surely needs a veteran like Judon that can rush the passer but also spell the other gamewreckers on the roster.
So even though he has qualified for the Pro Bowl four times, Judon is deferring to the incumbents like Robinson, Chubb, Phillips or Sieler, who led the Dolphins with 10 sacks in 2024.
“I kind of gotta follow the lead of the guys who have been here,” Judon said. “[Phillips] and Chubb, they also have a body of work that they can put on tape, so from afar I’ve been watching those guys. I don’t have to come in here and be ‘the guy’ right away.
“I can let them guys go out and do what they do and I can just plug and play. However they see me fit or however they see us all four working together, especially Chop, heâs coming into his own.”
The surplus of pass rushers makes Miami dangerous, especially if they can overwhelm offensive lines as they intend to.
“You can’t game plan nobody,” Judon said. “If you’ve got to chip both ends, that’s great for us. We have a guy like Sieler who can go get [the quarterback] himself.
“We’ve just got to see how every week pans out. You can talk about it, and it looks good on paper, but right now we’ve got to go out there and put the work in and understand how we rush together.”
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