Matthew Judon, the star pass-rusher, has opened up about the “disconnect” that led to his trade from the New England Patriots to the Atlanta Falcons.

The Patriots and Judon never seemed to be on the same page this summer, resulting in a trade that sent shockwaves through the NFL. The tension between the two parties was evident in the two weeks leading up to the trade, with Judon having animated conversations with head coach Jerod Mayo and executives Eliot Wolf and Matt Groh, skipping a training camp practice, and publicly expressing his frustration with his contract situation.

In an exclusive interview, Judon shared his thoughts on the trade, saying, “It was tough, but it was something that I think the organization needed to do. It’s a business decision. I told y’all, man, I love the game. It’s just the business of it, it is what it is. And sometimes it’s tough and sometimes it’s not what you want or expect.”

Judon, who is set to make $6.5 million on the final year of his contract, had been seeking a new deal in New England. However, there was a significant gap between what Judon was looking for and what the Patriots were willing to pay. Judon believes that the lack of in-person meetings between him and the Patriots’ front office contributed to the trade.

“I don’t know — I feel like we just never sat down and really came to the table with me,” Judon said. “So I think that’s the biggest point. It’s like, they kind of didn’t know where I was at (and) we kind of didn’t know where they were at. It was just always through text message or phone calls. We just never sat down and actually talked about it. I think that was the biggest disconnect.”

Judon had requested a sit-down with the front office to discuss his contract, but those requests were not granted. Despite the trade, Judon has fond memories of playing for the passionate fans in New England.

“Boston is connected in so many ways,” Judon added. “They all believe sports; everybody believes sports down there, and I just embraced it. It’s a sports town. It’s title town.”

Judon expressed his gratitude to the fans, saying, “To all the fans out there that I no longer get to hang out with or you’re not going to see me on a day-to-day basis, I appreciate y’all for what y’all did for my career, first and foremost. And then just the encouragement that y’all gave to me when I got injured or when I wasn’t playing well, y’all weren’t tearing me apart, or when I was playing well, y’all had my back.”

Watch Judon’s full interview in the YouTube video below.