Judd described himself as just "one of the soldiers" following Marc Murphy's elevation as skipper.
He said there were parts of the leadership role he would not miss.
"It's just a nice thing to do later on in your career, where you can really just focus on playing footy and not be distracted by some of the administrative duties that go with being in a leadership position," Judd said.
"It's not that I won't have a say at the club or won't be fully engaged, but I certainly feel like I'm enjoying the purity of just worrying about playing footy."
Judd admitted he had to make a choice and decided concentrating solely on playing was his preference.
"It's one of those things; you can't be half pregnant and you can't be half a captain," Judd said.
"There's a lot of parts of being captain that I loved and really enjoyed, and probably some other parts that I grew tired of.
"You can't pick and choose with a job like that, so the time was right to hand it over and Murph has already done a terrific job."
Judd said he would mentor some of the younger players but made it clear he would not try to influence the leadership.
"Murph's the boss, him and the rest of the leaders are making the rules and I'm one of the soldiers, and that's sort of refreshing as well," he said.
Judd has been troubled by hamstring issues and said he "didn't have a great pre-season" but that he was now almost back to full fitness.
The Blues open their AFL campaign against Richmond this week and Judd said he expected to play up to 80 per cent of the game.
"Not having that (NAB Cup) rotation cap it will be easier just to play in six-minute bursts," he said.
Judd acknowledged that it would take time for coach Mick Malthouse's game plan to gel, the Blues wouldn't use it an excuse for poor performances.
"Each week we go out there to try and win," he said.
"We feel we've got an experienced list that can play good footy (and) we're not going to hide behind change-of-game-plan and things like that regarding our performances. We've learned it long enough and we're ready to go."
Richmond's most recent win over Carlton coincided with Judd's first game for the Blues in round one, 2008. Carlton has won its nine subsequent encounters by an average of 50 points, but Judd expects stronger opposition this time.
"It's been a while (for Richmond) but they’re playing really good footy," he said.
"They’re starting to get some players at that age where they become men and consistent performers.
"Trent Cotchin's arguably the most dominant midfielder in the comp now. So we go into that game really expecting a huge contest."
Chris Judd is a midfielder in NAB AFL Fantasy. He averaged 90.4 points in 2012. Register your team at our AFL Fantasy Hub.
