It looks like all forces are crashing down on Bill Belichick, and with some claiming that he’s on the coaching hot seat, a former player is now calling his character into question while trying to turn his players against him.
In recent news, Patriots star pass rusher Matt Judon wants a raise in his contract. While this raise would be well-deserved for the 30-year-old, it’s no secret that he is underpaid, only making $13.6 million as one of the best pass rushers in the league.
As an aging athlete, Judon, who still has much gas left in the tank, also wants another massive payday before being put out to financial pasture.
On the other hand, Asante Samuel, who’s waged an all-out war against Belichick and the Patriots, saw this as an opportunity to try and turn Judon against Belichick. On the app X, formerly known as Twitter, Samuel took a stab at trying to turn Judon on Belichick.
“Let’s see how much he likes Belichick now.” Samuel tweeted.
Attempting to get Judon to voice his anger at the Patriots and their head coach for not being able to reach an agreement on a contract adjustment, Samuel wants to shift public opinion within the Patriots organization and possibly end in Judon requesting a trade from the Patriots, normalcy for disgruntled players with unmet contract demands.
However this may have played out in Samuel’s head, but it didn’t work in reality. Judon was swift with his response to the former Patriot, letting him know where he stands regarding his coach.
“Will forever be my guy. Don’t let that money effect my emotions, Asante.” Judon tweeted.
Judon has two years remaining on his original four-year, $56 million deal he originally signed in 2021. Though his contract in 2021 might’ve felt like an excellent payday for Judon then, he’s not letting the fact that it’s a below-market deal now get in the way of the respect and camaraderie he has for the legendary coach.
On the other hand, Asante Samuel won multiple championships behind Belichick’s Patriots and saw the beginning of his prime in New England; he was also named to his first Pro Bowl before becoming a Philadelphia Eagle. So, after spending the first five years of his career as a Patriot, why does he have so much animosity toward Belichick?
The answer to why he holds this grudge with Belichick and why he’s also drawing on Judon’s contract dispute as a pressure point could be that in 2007 he had a contract dispute with the Patriots, which led them to place a franchise tag on him and signaled his last season with them.