Raheem Morris on Matthew Judon: His reputation precedes himself

The Falcons announced they’ve agreed to terms with the Patriots to acquire edge rusher Matthew Judon, pending a physical.

In his Thursday press conference, head coach Raheem Morris touted Judon’s skillset, saying, “His reputation precedes himself.”

“Anytime you can add a dog, really, to your group and have him be able to come be a part of that, that is exciting,” Morris said, via Terrin Waack of the team’s website. “I think we have excitement for that. I think he has excitement for that. I think a couple of our players that actually know him personally have excitement for that.”

Judon, who turned 32 on Thursday, played just four games last year due to injury. But in 2022 he set a career high with 15.5 sacks.

Morris compared the addition to the Rams acquiring Von Miller midway through the 2021 season, which helped the club ultimately win Super Bowl LVI with Morris as defensive coordinator.

“You get a guy with the ability to come in here and be a game wrecker for you right now, you figure out those things,” Morris said. “I have one real key factor. We did that out in L.A. with Von. Got him middle season doing a trade, he was able to come in [and] turn into a game wrecker. I got a chance to see playoff Von. Got a ring because of it. Got a lot of success.”

In 114 career games with Baltimore and New England, Judon has 66.5 sacks, 87 tackles for loss, and 165 QB hits.