Patriots Defender Details Contract Discussions With Eliot Wolf
The Patriots handed out multiple contract extensions this offseason, but there were two instances where there was resistance from both sides.
Matthew Judon was the most notable of that drama, which ended with New England trading away the 32-year-old to the Atlanta Falcons for a third-round pick. One player who got their contract dispute resolved was Davon Godchaux. who netted a two-year extension that included $16.5 million in guarantees.
The extension came days after his agent Drew Rosenhaus was present at Patriots practice, and Godchaux gave a detailed account of the negotiations.
"I don't wanna be a distraction. Man, it was a new head coach," Godchaux told Jacoby Brissett on "his podcast"Chaux Talk" this week. "I don't wanna be a distraction to the team. I really just wanna go out here and ball. I didn't do nothing in OTAs. I just worked out at the facility and I went home and training camp came. And I remember having this conversation with Eliot (Wolf) at minicamp. I was like, 'I ain't doing nothing for training camp,' because first day at minicamp, I did my conditioning and I shut it down.
"The second day, he called me and was like 'Look, what's going on? We want you to be out on the field practicing.'’ I’m like, 'Look Eliot, I ain't got guarantees.' I get it. This day and age, the top pass rushers are getting paid big money, but you also need a guy to come in and stop the run. If the run don’t get stopped, then you can forget about the pass rush. I guarantee those guys don't want to be in double teams all day every day.
"I'm like, 'Let's try to make it somewhere where we can make it fair. I'm not gonna do nothing against (the Philadelphia Eagles),' the joint practices. Me and my agent end up taking a whole other approach when it came to training camp. I practiced in pads the first couple days, and then about the third day in pads, I got paid. We was just like a million or two off. I'm like 'Eliot, let's just get this done. I wanna be here, you guys want me here. Let's just get it done.' And then we end up getting it done."
It's not often you hear a player talk about their meetings with team executives, especially since Judon claimed he didn't receive much communication from the Patriots despite his efforts to get a deal done. It's unknown what the Pro Bowl pass rusher was seeking for his extension, but according to Godchaux, his deal only needed to work out small details.
The 29-year-old will be relied upon in the trenches while Christian Barmore remains out due to blood clots, and with a new deal, he sounds invigorated to get going this season.