Offseason moves and shuffling continues as free agents Clay Matthews and Randall Cobb have both found new positions within the league.
Clay Matthews was likely facing a pay cut if he stuck around in Green Bay and it looks like the Los Angeles Rams made him a decent offer to snag him for a two-year contract. His final season with the Packers was a rough one that included a broken nose before the season even started.
#NewProfilePic pic.twitter.com/21Z13cmGUG
— Clay Matthews III (@ClayMatthews52) March 20, 2019
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Packers free agent Randall Cobb was also just picked up by the Dallas Cowboys for a one-year deal.
WR Randall Cobb (@rcobb18) to sign with the @dallascowboys on a one-year, $5 million deal.
(via @RapSheet) pic.twitter.com/ZVbqo0e4Jw
— NFL (@NFL) March 19, 2019
This move is not at all surprising as we have reported in the past that Cobb was not likely to return.
Go do ya thang 18. Can’t thank u enough for guiding me through this thing and showing us all how to be a pro. Love u brudda I’m excited for your next chapter ✊🏾 #187
— Davante Adams (@tae15adams) March 20, 2019
https://www.instagram.com/p/BvNynbBBEKk/
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Both these moves are bittersweet for Packers fans as both players have been with the team for a combined 18 years between the two of them. Clay Matthews III is easily one of the most popular players for Green Bay – as evident by this site’s search analytics showing that fans are constantly looking for updates on him.
I would have loved to have seen Matthews take a pay cut and stick around under LaFleur but he needs to look out for himself and his family so he decided LA was the best place for him next season. He is originally from Southern California so it will be a bit of a homecoming for him.
Looking back on his career, there are two sides. The first half is that of an explosive, game-changing LB while the latter half of his career is marred with inconsistency as more and more fans questioned his large salary. His position as a fan favorite has helped some to look past his more recent lack of performance but the Packers front office decided enough was enough.
Rob Born recently wrote about the decision facing the Packers on Clay Matthews:
The predominant view is that Matthews’ career is over. In 2018, he took 756 of the defensive snaps, or 71%. Next to him Blake Martinez took 1,049. In 2017, he took 62% of the snaps and in 2016 he took only 46%. Clay hasn’t been healthy since 2015, when he took 1,017 snaps (97%) and recorded 11 sacks. And when Clay has played of late, he’s been at less than full strength for much of that time.
In favor of such an arrangement, in the past three years Clay has played a substantial amount of time as an inside linebacker – at this stage, he performs better in the middle than on the edge – he’s a capable run-stopper. DC Mike Pettine likes to mix things up, and Clay could provide him with lots of options.
As much as the move makes sense, it is still sad to see someone like Clay leave Green Bay and play elsewhere. He will always be considered a Packer.
Today sucked..
— David Bakhtiari (@DavidBakhtiari) March 20, 2019