Jerod Mayo believed the ultimate end to the Matthew Judon saga worked out well for all sides.

Speaking on 98.5 The Sports Hub before Thursday night’s preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Mayo called New England’s decision to trade Judon to the Atlanta Falcons “a win-win.”

By parting ways with their disgruntled defensive star, the Patriots acquired a future asset (Atlanta’s third-round pick in next year’s draft) to assist in their rebuild. Judon, meanwhile, gets to join a team that might be more receptive to his contract demands, and the Falcons add a four-time Pro Bowler to bolster a pass rush that ranked 19th in the NFL in sack rate last season.

Judon made clear during training camp that he was unhappy with his current deal, which is set to pay him a nonguaranteed $6.5 million salary this season. Mayo said trade talks involving the 32-year-old “started a long time ago.”

“I think it’s a win-win,” Mayo said in his radio hit. “We didn’t look at it as this negotiation or trade has to be a win-lose situation. We get a third-round pick for a veteran pass-rusher, and he gets the chance to go get the contract that he desires with the Falcons. So I think it’s a win-win, and once again, we need some of these young guys to step up and develop.”

Judon racked up 32 sacks in 38 games for the Patriots before suffering a biceps injury that wiped out most of his 2023 campaign. Trading him will undoubtedly hurt their defense in the short term, especially with New England’s second-best pass rusher, Christian Barmore, sidelined indefinitely with blood clots.

The Patriots will heavily rely on second-year defensive end Keion White to help fill that void, with Anfernee Jennings, Josh Uche, roster hopeful Oshane Ximines and possibly other edge rushers also factoring into the Judon replacement plan.

Mayo said he’s “excited” about the players who were behind Judon on the depth chart and noted the Patriots traditionally have found success without the need for highly paid, marquee pass rushers.

“For a long time around here, we’ve been able to generate pass rush without a premier rusher,” Mayo said. “Chandler (Jones), he was a premier rusher. Judon was a premier rusher. But there have been years where we didn’t have that guy and we would scheme things up, and I feel fairly confident that we’ll be able to do that.”

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Mayo also detailed the Patriots’ quarterback plan for Thursday’s exhibition. Top pick Drake Maye would play roughly two quarters, the head coach said, after logging just six snaps in last week’s preseason opener against Carolina. Sixth-round rookie Joe Milton III would see action in the second half. He made no mention of third-year pro Bailey Zappe, who saw the most snaps of any Patriots QB against the Panthers.

“Jacoby (Brissett) is going to start it off,” Mayo said. “Drake should get two quarters. I think it’s important for him to get out of halftime and be able to implement the adjustments that we made a halftime. Then Joe will come in after that.”

Brissett, the clear-cut favorite to start in Week 1, played the first three drives, sandwiching a pair of three-and-outs around an ugly end-zone interception. New England converted two third-and-1s before Brissett tried to fire a red-zone pass to tight end Austin Hooper and found cornerback Avonte Maddox instead.

Maye entered at the start of the second quarter.