According to the linebacker, he thought he was going to be re-signed in 2019
In a recent podcast on the Bussin’ With The Boys’ YouTube channel, former Green Bay Packers linebacker Clay Matthews III told the world that his belief was that he was going to return to the Packers for the 2019 season. As Matthews tells it, Green Bay’s staff told him to go seek out a deal in free agency that they hoped to later match. Matthew claims that his intent was to return to Green Bay that offseason.
Unfortunately, for Clay, he learned that the Packers had signed both Preston Smith and Za’Darius Smith, two starters who played his pass-rushing linebacker position, via social media. Shortly after, he received a call from Green Bay telling him that they were thankful for his contributions to the team.
In 2018, Matthews had a career-low 3.5 sacks, despite starting all 16 games for the Packers. He would then sign with the Los Angeles Rams, as a Southern California native, over the Baltimore Ravens, one of two teams that he claims gave him interest in the open market. With the Rams, his final year in the NFL, he posted eight sacks, the most since his Pro Bowl season in 2014. After his lone season with Los Angeles, Matthews retired.
Former Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has stated several times that he did not like how Green Bay let veterans walk during his time with the club, and Matthews’ animosity toward the situation might make you wonder if Rodgers was thinking of Matthews when he made such claims. After all, it’s been documented that the two were close friends.
Even after the Packers signed the two Smith pass-rushers in 2019, the team hit the position again by spending a first-round pick on Rashan Gary. When Green Bay’s Twitter account sent out a photoshopped picture of Gary wearing number 52, previously worn by Matthews, Matthews responded, “The body’s not even cold yet lol.”
Earlier this year, Matthews jokingly quipped, “That better not be Gary’s,” to a Packers fan wearing a number 52 jersey at a club-sponsored event. It was Matthews’, not Gary’s.
Maybe the signs were always there?
Matthews was inducted into the Packers Hall of Fame in August and is the franchise’s career leader in sacks with 83.5.