FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- Sometimes when someone says nothing at all, their silence is what speaks the loudest. About halfway through Matthew Judon's introductory press conference Monday, his silence fell heavily in the room.
Head bowed, eyes closed, shaky breath taken, Judon contemplated and tried to articulate what the last year has been like for himself.
After accumulating double-digit sacks in back-to-back years, Judon was entering into the 2023 season as one of the most productive edge rushers in the league. He was on an upward trend and showed no signs of slowing down. With four sacks through four games played to start the season, all seemed right of track for the veteran pass rusher. That is, until a freak injury of a torn bicep stopped Judon in his tracks.
What transpired in the next year of recovery opened Judon up in a way he'd never experienced before.
"I knew God, but I encountered Him over that time. It was a period for me," Judon said. "I went through some hard stuff over the year, and it wasn't because of the injury. Football, this game, it masks so much stuff. ... I learned a lot about myself.
Judon said these few sentences through emotion-heavy periods of silence. In the quiet, you could almost hear Judon's mind working through the memories of what the last year was for him. A year that ultimately brought him to the Falcons after the organization sent a 2025 third-round pick to New England in order to acquire him. No tears fell as Judon addressed the local Atlanta media, but the emotion in his voice -- and in the silence -- couldn't be missed.
"I can't quite say it enough," he said, "I am just happy to be here."
Early impressions of the team and the defensive unit are positive, Judon said. He joked that there were players coming up to him at practice asking for advice along with tips and tricks. He laughed, saying, between moving, learning the playbook and simply trying to get all of his clothes to Atlanta he feels like he's "in the spin cycle right now."
Currently, the Falcons are working to ease him into the defensive operation, with head coach Raheem Morris saying prior to practice that they'll have Judon working through about 50% of the team reps that they would normally give a player of his caliber. No worries, though, Morris added, they'll have Judon and newly acquired safety Justin Simmons ready for Week 1.
Despite what might be limited practice reps in this preseason week, though, that doesn't mean Judon hasn't taken note of the team around him, or -- better yet -- the culture set. In fact, that's the first thing he noticed as he moved his personal belongings into his locker at the facility in Flowery Branch.
"I didn't know it until I got in the building, but you see the culture," Judon said. "You see how Rah(eem) interacts with the players, and how the players interact with each other. ... You see that the locker room is stable."
He also feels valued in Atlanta, and when asked his opinions on the Falcons not extending his contract when they acquired him, he said he understands that, too.
"The Atlanta Falcons know nothing about me as a football player, as a man. They know my previous résumé," Judon said. "I can't really demand or ask for anything that I haven't worked for. That's where I have been my whole life. But I'm going to work for it, man."
So, what type of goal does a four-time Pro Bowler set for himself in the situation he currently finds himself in? Coming off a season-ending injury and traded to a new team?
Oh, that's easy seeing as the mission, Judon said, is already clear.
"I don't set a goal, but I'm going to go out there and I am just going to play with reckless abandonment," Judon explained. "That's the mission. The mission is to go and destroy everything out there."
In the end, Judon said he's coming to Atlanta to "prove and improve whatever" he can, personally and as a teammate. If that means causing disruption off the edge to free Grady Jarrett up for three or four more sacks? He'll do it. If it's accumulating tackles for loss setting the edge instead of sacking the quarterback? He'll do that, too.
Whatever is needed, Judon said he's here to provide.
And after a year of unknowns, "here" is known. "Here" is Atlanta.
