Patriots edge rusher Matthew Judon to undergo potential season-ending surgery for torn bicep

The New England Patriots took a big loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday but in the grand scheme of the season, they took an even bigger loss due to the injury to star edge rusher Matthew Judon. Judon suffered a torn bicep, the team confirmed after further evaluation this week.

Now, the former Baltimore Raven will have to undergo surgery that could potentially put an end to his 2023 season. The surgery recovery timeline keeps the door open for Judon to return before the end of the regular season slate, but they’ll need to reevaluate after the procedure.

“He wants to try to come back to play again this year, but there are questions about whether he can or will,” ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter shared on Tuesday. “Either way he’s out indefinitely.”

Prior to his exit on Sunday with the injury, Judon had one tackle against the Cowboys. On the year, he has 13 tackles, including four sacks and a tackle for loss.

Selected in the fifth round of the 2016 NFL Draft, Judon has had a relatively healthy eight years so far in the NFL. He has 66.5 career sacks and is coming off of a career-high of 15.5 sacks last year for New England. The former Grand Valley State star signed a four-year, $54.5 million deal in 2021 and then signed a new extension this offseason for an additional $3 million, plus an increase in his guaranteed money.

Patriots stand by Mac Jones after historic loss for Bill Belichick

On Sunday, Bill Belichick suffered the worst loss of his head coaching career in the New England Patriots’ 38-3 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. During the game, Belichick sent starting quarterback Mac Jones to the bench, leading to speculation about his job security.

After the game, however, Bill Belichick reaffirmed his commitment to Jones as the Patriots’ starting quarterback. Instead, he explained that the benching wasn’t because of performance. It was because of the situation in the game.

“I didn’t think there was any point in leaving him in the game,” Belichick told The Boston Herald.

It was a long day for Mac Jones. He was 12 for 21 passing for 150 yards. He also threw two interceptions and fumbled the ball. He was replaced by Bailey Zappe, a move Belichick made in 2022 as well. In relief of Jones, Zappe was four for nine passing for 57 yards.

Things were certainly out of hand by the time Mac Jones exited the game. It was 28-3 at halftime, a score Patriots fans normally like, but things only got worse in the second half before he was pulled from the game.

“Yeah, I just said there was no point in leaving him in the game,” Belichick reiterated.

When pushed, Bill Belichick once again insisted that he didn’t bench Mac Jones over his poor performance. Instead, he was benched to avoid injury once the game was out of hand.

“I just said there was no point in leaving him out there, so I took him out,” Belichick said.

New England is 1-3 this season, with the Patriots’ only win coming against the New York Jets. Next week, New England will host the New Orleans Saints.

On3’s Dan Morrison contributed to this report.