It seems like a cool idea.
New England Patriots fans caught wind Monday of the fact that Matthew Judon is now a free agent.
Judon had been on the practice squad of the Buffalo Bills, and the losers of the Divisional Round of the playoffs had those players become free agents on Monday, Jan. 26.
Of the list, Judon is the most accomplished of a group that also includes Shaq Lawson, Quintez Cephus and kicker Matthew Wright.
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Pats fans started to get an idea -- what if they signed Judon for the Super Bowl?
He had 32.5 sacks in three seasons in New England earlier in his career. Sounds fun, right?
It actually can't happen.
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Can the Patriots sign Matthew Judon for the Super Bowl?
The rules prevent the Pats from signing Judon to play for them in the Super Bowl.
A team's playoff-eligible players are set at the start of the postseason, and Judon wasn't part of the roster.
The NFL had a few emergency-scenario rules put in place around the COVID seasons, but those wouldn't apply here.
Judon could be signed by the Patriots to a reserve/future contract to be part of the organization in the offseason heading into the 2026 campaign, if they wanted.
But there won't be any Judon suiting up in the Super Bowl for New England.
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