Aaron Rodgers lobbies for Packers to bring back Clay Matthews

Matthews spent his first 10 NFL seasons with the Packers, who selected him 26th overall in the 2009 draft. He emerged as one of the league's top edge-rushers with 83.5 sacks in 143 games for the team, winning a Super Bowl in 2011. 

The six-time Pro Bowler left Green Bay to sign with the Los Angeles Rams in 2019, but that wasn't by choice. He told NFL.com's Michael Silver that the Packers said there was "no room" for him at the time.

Matthews played well for the Rams, recording eight sacks in 13 appearances, but he was released by the team in March 2020 and has been a free agent ever since. 

The 35-year-old can still be a solid situational edge-rusher and would provide Green Bay with depth behind Za'Darius Smith and Preston Smith. However, it's unclear if the Packers front office has any interest in a reunion with the veteran.

According to Spotrac, the Packers have $11.2 million in cap space available for 2021, and Matthews likely wouldn't be looking for anything more than that, considering he has been out of the league for so long.