Six-times Pro Bowl linebacker Clay Matthews spent the first 10 years of his career with the Green Bay Packers and figured he did enough to warrant another contract so he could retire with the organization. Things, however, didn’t go as planned for Matthews with Packers deciding not to offer him an extension this summer.
Matthews, who ended up signing with Los Angeles Rams, recently decided to talk about his Packers exit for the first time in an interview with NFL.com’s Michael Silver. He admitted that he was “surprised” with Green Bay’s decision, as he believed he will be with the franchise for “a few more years.”
“I was kind of taken aback because I thought I’d always be back there, whether it was at a cheaper price [or not],” – Matthews told Silver. “So that was kind of a shock, because [my family] stayed out there and had our third child in the offseason, and I was hanging in town training there and everything. And yeah, that was kind of a surprise to me because I just figured I would be out there a few more years.”
According to Matthews, the reason that Packers gave him was that there was “no room” for him on the team anymore.
“People say, ‘You chose to go to L.A.’ I didn’t choose. They told me there was no room for me,” he added.
After hitting the free market, Clay Matthews received a two-year, $9.25 million offer from the Rams. Although accepting this deal would see Matthews return to his hometown of LA, the 33-year-old made one more attempt to stay with Green Bay.
Matthews approached Packers’ general manager Brian Gutekunst to see whether they would match the offer but received a negative answer. This was when he realized his time in Wisconsin is over and accepted the contract from Rams.
During his 10 years with the Packers, Matthews won a Super Bowl ring, made six Pro-Bowl appearances and received one All-Pro honor.
