Outside linebacker Clay Matthews agreed to terms on a two-year contract with the Los Angeles Rams on Tuesday. The exact value of his contract is still unknown, but the deal keeps him on the team until 2021. Matthews spent the first 10 years of his career with the Green Bay Packers (2009-2019).
Update: Per Mike Garafolo, Matthews’ contract is worth up to $16.75 million
Former Packers’ LB Clay Matthews is returning to Los Angeles, reaching agreement with the Rams on a two-year deal. Matthews has a home minutes from the Rams training facility. Now a convenient commute. https://t.co/NECYLGfbxX
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 20, 2019
Two-year deal for LB Clay Matthews with the #Rams worth a max of $16.75 million, source says. He had more lucrative offers on the table but he just welcomed his third child and really wanted to play close to home. Plus, a shot at another ring doesn’t hurt.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) March 20, 2019
Clay Matthews, Los Angeles Rams Agree to Contract
2018 was Matthews most unproductive season yet, having sustained an offseason injury. In 16 games he had 3.5 sacks and hasn’t surpassed eight sacks per season since 2014.
In 2017, Matthews became the Packers all-time sack leader. This was a significant improvement from 2016, where he had a career-low 24 tackles. Despite that, he was ranked 82nd by his peers on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2017
Matthews helped lead his team to the NFC Divisional Round playoff game in 2015 against the Arizona Cardinals, which the Packers lost 26-20.
In 2014, Matthews started every game in the regular season, for the first time in his professional career. He alternated between outside and middle linebacker, and Packers defense improved dramatically over the final eight weeks of the season. Matthews finished the season with 11 sacks and nine passes defended.
Matthews broke his thumb in 2013 but in just 11 games, he recorded 41 tackles and a team-high 7.5 sacks. The year before that, he became one of six players in NFL history to record six or more sacks in the first two games of the season, and he’s the only player to do it twice.
In 2009, his rookie season, Matthews was named NFC Defensive Rookie of The Year and set the Packers record for most sacks in a season by a rookie.
Matthews attended Agoura High School in Agoura Hills, California before becoming a walk-on at the University of Southern California. He played for the USC Trojans under head coach Pete Carroll and won Special Teams Player of the Year from 2006 to 2008. He became a starting outside linebacker in his senior season and was part of three Pac-10 Championship teams. Matthews was selected in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft (26th overall) by the Packers.
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