Clay Matthews: 'Would have loved to finish my career' with Packers
Former Green Bay Packers and Los Angeles Rams linebacker Clay Matthews is a man of few regrets.
But as he tells it, if he could change one thing about the way his playing career ended, he would have retired as a member of the team that drafted him 26th overall in the 2009 NFL Draft.
"I would have loved to finish my career [in Green Bay]," Matthews said recently, via ESPN's Rob Demovsky. "Based on my discussions after that 2018 season, I thought we were going to continue moving forward. But yeah, the manner in which it did kind of caught me by surprise. Ultimately, it is what it is. I had fun in my year in L.A. It was a blast getting to go home and play with some incredible players."
Green Bay’s all-time leader in sacks (83.5), Matthews spent the first 10 years of his career with the Packers, totaling 482 tackles, 121 tackles for loss, 15 forced fumbles, and five fumble recoveries. He won a Super Bowl in 2011 and was a six-time Pro Bowl selection, a first-team All-Pro selection in 2010, and a second-team All-Pro selection in 2012.
Matthews signed a two-year deal with the Rams ahead of the 2019 season, racking up 37 tackles, 28 QB pressures, 16 QB hurries, 11 QB hits, nine tackles for loss, eight sacks, and two forced fumbles in his lone season. He was released during the 2020 offseason, and he officially announced his retirement on Sept. 27 after two years away from football.
"Everyone knows me from my time in Green Bay," Matthews added. "The 10 years I played with the Packers were a lot more than the one year I played with the Rams."
More must-reads: