After spending a decade with the Green Bay Packers, linebacker Clay Matthews Jr. is heading for a new destination.
Matthews agreed to a two-year deal with the Los Angeles Rams on Tuesday, moving on to a new team for the first time since he was drafted by Green Bay in 2009.
The Rams add a native of the area who grew up in Los Angeles and played college football at the University of Southern California.
Despite slowing down a bit recently, Matthews has been known as one of the top outside linebackers in football during the majority of his NFL career. He made the Pro Bowl six times during his ten years with Green Bay.
His best season came shortly after being drafted back in 2010, when he was named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year and a first-team All-Pro selection.
Matthews had his worst season as a professional last year. Despite starting all 16 of the Packers’ games, he only tallied 43 total tackles and 3.5 sacks.
In his ten seasons in Green Bay, Matthews recorded 482 tackles and 83.5 sacks. He was a durable player, missing only 13 of 160 total games.
The Rams will now hope that Matthews can re-discover some of the play-making and quarterback rushing ability that he showed previously in his career to enhance their defense.
