Poe the Raven
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- Mar 16, 2019
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Most NFL stories have similar content, structure, flow. Some don’t.
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Via Andrew Bucholtz of AwfulAnnouncing.com, Ravens linebacker Matthew Judon has taken issue with the reporting of Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com. Judon’s ire has manifested itself in a specific and pointed threat.
Judon vowed on social media to take specific action against Hensley if Hensley doesn’t apologize for something Hensley reported. “I’m waiting on your ESPN sourced apology or I’m leaking these photos I got with you in the strip club,” Judon said.
The report from Hensley doesn’t seem to justify the extreme reaction from Judon. Hensley reported that the Ravens offered Judon a long-term deal in the range of $16.5 million annually and that Judon declined.
The timing of the offer isn’t clear. Since Judon was franchise-tagged in 2020, and because the Ravens and Judon didn’t reach a long-term deal before July 15, the window closed on any multi-year contract after after the end of the season. As one source explained it to PFT, the rules prohibit not only reaching a deal but also negotiating one. (The language of the CBA doesn’t expressly prohibit negotiations on a long-term deal after July 15, but it’s clear that no extension can be finalized until after the season.)
Regardless of whether the Ravens did or didn’t or could or couldn’t make a long-term offer to Judon, it doesn’t seem like the kind of thing that should have prompted the player to go straight to the nuclear option. It’s not an ideal look for Judon as he approaches free agency, absent a new deal with the Ravens or the franchise tag, again.
Judon’s agent, J.R. Roggio, respectfully declined comment. Neither ESPN nor the Ravens had responded to a request for comment at the time this item was posted.