Patriots linebacker Matthew Judon ‘felt very prepared’ after his stint on the Covid-19 list

Normally, linebacker Matthew Judon would play close to 100 percent of the New England Patriots’ defensive snaps any given week. With him coming off a stint on the Covid-19 reserve list, however, his role looked quite different against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Judon was used in more of a situational capacity during the Patriots’ 50-10 win. However, he did apparently not feel impacted by his stint on the Coronavirus list.

“I felt very prepared,” Judon said during his postgame press conference. “Zoom calls, Zoom meetings, that’s really all you can do. Then kind of run a little bit but try not to get my heart rate up. It’s still a lot of unknowns that we don’t know about Covid. It’s still a lot of unknowns so you still try to relax your body, but it kind of sucks in the heart of the season that you can’t move and stuff. But I am fine.”

Judon ended the game without any recorded statistics, with his lone tackle being negated by an offensive penalty. Despite those comparatively limited contributions, the Patriots defense had no problem stopping Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars’ attack.

So, was Week 17 merely an opportunity for Judon to get some rest?

“I’m a football player and if we have a game, I want to play,” he said. “That’s the competitor in me. It’s good to relax and stuff but if we are going to battle, I want a war. That’s just how I am. Like you said, it’s good to rest your body, but I always want to play.”

Judon will get his next chance to do that in Week 18, when the Patriots are playing the Miami Dolphins on the road.