In the aftermath of the Atlanta Falcons trading a third-round draft pick to the New England Patriots for star pass rusher Matthew Judon, it was discovered that the Bears were also in heavy pursuit of Judon.
There have been varying levels of reporting regarding why the Bears were unable to complete the trade. There was the thought that the Bears did not want to sign Judon to a contract extension, thus, being the reason why, when given a choice, Judon informed the Patriots to move him to the Falcons.
With the Bears being featured in this season's Training Camp edition of Hard Knocks, Tuesday night's episode provided insight into the team's pursuit of Judon. First and foremost, the Bears weren't just kicking the tires on a potential trade for Judon, Poles was determined to get the move finalized. Whether it was Poles' discussion with the Bears' PR team or Matt Eberflus talking with Jeff King during practice, there was a point where the Bears believed they were not only in the driver's seat to acquire Judon but a trade would be completed.
Ultimately, as Poles revealed during the episode, the Bears did not have an assurance from Judon that he would sign a new deal, so the Falcons were the team to land the Pro Bowl edge rusher.
Tremendous insight into the Judon trade talks. Based on Poles, sounds like #Bears were in the driver seat but the lack of assurance of a new deal derailed the movement toward the finish line.
— Bear Goggles On (@BearGogglesOn) August 21, 2024
The Bears wanted Matthew Judon to sign a contract extension.
Once the trade with the Falcons was announced, Poles did express some clear regret about what went wrong with the team's pursuit. Ultimately, as Poles revealed, the trade did not make sense given there was no assurance that Judon was going to sign a new deal with the team.
For as much as Poles wanted Judon, he made the right move. The Bears' 2024 season is not the mile-marker year for the team's contention window. The contention window is opening this season and with that in mind, bringing in Judon without a new contract does not align with sustaining the contention window for multiple seasons ahead.