Clay Matthews 'Stung' By Packers

This video is actually from last week, but Wisconsin State Journal reporter Jason Wilde tweeted it last night, and I thought it was interesting. In it, Mike Silver of NFL Media makes the case that Clay Matthews could reasonably feel ‘stung’ by how his tenure with the Packers ended.

Matthews tweeted this, when it was revealed that Packers’ first round pick Rashan Gary would be wearing the no. 52 that Matthews wore for the last 10 seasons:

As Silver notes, the Packers had Matthews sacrifice his statistical production by moving him from the edge to be a middle linebacker, went out and signed edge rushers this offseason, and showed no interest in matching the alleged discounted offer that the Rams made Matthews.

As a Packers fan, I can see both sides of this. Matthews hasn’t had a double-digit sack season since 2014 and I can understand the Packers wanting to get younger on defense. However, I also am of the opinion that Matthews, having played at the level he did for as long as he did which included a Super Bowl title, earned a grace period for which no. 52 would not be worn. It could sound like nothing to people on the outside, but there’s a level of respect that Matthews should have earned between both how he performed and how he carried himself.