Clay Matthews

At 37 years old, Clay Matthews has this physical status:

College career

Matthews attended the University of Southern California and played for the Trojans from 2004 to 2008 under head coach Pete Carroll. Despite being the son of an All-Pro NFL linebacker, he came to the United StatesC as an unheralded, walk-on student student. During his first season with the BCS National Championship, he only played on the scout team and turned down several playing opportunities during garbage time during the fourth quarters of games to maintain his redshirt status and remaining seasons of NCAA eligibility. During the 2005 season, he served on special teams and was mainly a nonathletic scholarship (a "walk on") reserve linebacker. At the start of the 2006 season, he was granted full athletic scholarship status. Matthews continued to play reserve linebacker in the 2006 and 2007 seasons, and he made two starts in 2007 in place of injured teammate Brian Cushing. In 2006 and 2007, he was named Co-Special Teams Player of the Year by the University of California, and in the fall, he missed two field goals.

Matthews committed to weight training and conditioning to increase his strength and stamina during the off season. At the start of the 2008 season, defensive coordinator Nick Holt, Carroll, and Norton decided to try using Matthews in a hybrid "elephant" position, in which Matthews will be in the position of defensive end but not in 2006. Matthews' participation was fruitful, as he competed with his other NFL-bound teammates Brian Cushing, Rey Maualuga, and Kaluka Maiava. In addition, Matthews continued his spectacular special-teams play in 2008 and was named Co-Special Teams Player of the Year in the United StatesC, making him the youngest player in USC history to receive three consecutive Special Teams Player of the Year awards. Matthews was a top pick for the 2009 NFL Draft as a participant in the 2009 Senior Bowl and was regarded as a top prospect.

Matthews was one of 12 senior USC football players, including the four linebackers Cushing, Maiava, Matthews, and Maualuga, who were invited to the 2009 NFL Scouting Combine. On the front page of Sports Illustrated's 2009 NFL Draft Preview magazine, Matthews, Maualuga, and Cushing were listed as potential first-round picks.

Professional career

The Green Bay Packers traded Brett Favre to the New York Jets for what would be the Jets' third-round draft pick (83rd overall) in the 2009 NFL Draft on August 7, 2008.

The Packers sold their second-round pick (43rd overall, Darius Butler), their third-round pick (73rd overall, Derek Cox, Jacksonville Jaguars), and the 83rd overall pick (Jason Meredith) in that year's draft on draft day (James) and their 83rd overall pick (162nd overall) and their fifth-round pick (162nd overall, Jamon Meredith).

With the 26th overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, the Packers used the first-round pick from the Patriots to pick Matthews.

Kevin Greene, the former All-Pro linebacker who is third on the all-time sack list with 160 (most ever by a linebacker), was hired by Dom Capers in 2009 to guide the outside linebacker position. In Matthews, he saw a lot of himself, but feared the Packers would not be able to draft him. Analysts were taken aback when the Packers cut Matthews, who they did not like as a first-round draft pick due to his inexperience at USC (only starting the final ten games of his senior season). Matthews has a "set of abilities" that he hasn't seen in an outside linebacker, according to Greene. Clay has a set of abilities that I didn't have. He has another one that I didn't have. He's more gifted than Kevin Greene was.

Matthews scored his first touchdown against the Minnesota Vikings on Monday Night Football when he stripped the ball from running back Adrian Peterson and ran the ball back for a touchdown.

Matthews had another good game against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 10: recording one tackle, recovering two fumbles prompted by cornerback Charles Woodson, and firing Dallas quarterback Tony Romo to make him a nominee for the Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week. For the second time in as many nominations, he was named Rookie of the Week for week 10.

He made three tackles, assisted on two more, and fired Daunte Culpepper twice in Week 12 against the Detroit Lions. He was nominated for and received the Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week award for his efforts.

In Week 13, Matthews played perhaps the best game in his young career, receiving the NFC Defensive Player of the Week award in Week 13. In the Packers' 27–14 victory over the Baltimore Ravens, Matthews had six tackles, two sacks, and a forced fumble.

Matthews was dismissed by the Chicago Bears on December 13, 2009, marking his eighth firing of the season (1982–present), along with former Packers Tim Harris and Vonnie Holiday in a three-way tie for the team's most sacks in a rookie season (1982–1989). Matthews also had two more sacks against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the rookie season this week.

Lance Briggs was recalled to the 2010 Pro Bowl NFC squad, replacing him. He was the first Packers rookie to earn a Pro Bowl pick since wide receiver James Lofton in 1978.

In his rookie season, Matthews had 51 tackles, ten sacks, seven pass deflections, three touchdown recoveries, three pass deflections, three fumble recoveries, and a forced fumble. He appeared in all 16 games, starting at ROLB in 13 of them. With 45.5, he led the Packers in QB pressures. He came in third place for the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, losing to his fellow USC teammate Brian Cushing. He was named NFC Defensive Rookie of the Year and set the Packer record for the most sacks in a season by a rookie by 10.0.

In the 2010 season, Matthews took a different route to the game. Dom Capers decided to move him around the field after being double-teamed and constantly chipped by running backs in the NFC wild card game against the Arizona Cardinals. Matthews would eventually play mainly at LOLB, but he would bounce around the field, often in the middle, and at times in the middle, and even in the middle. He finished the season with 60 tackles, 13.5 sacks (fourth in the league), four pass deflections, two forced fumbles, and an interceptor through 15 games in 2010. He became the first Packer to record six sacks in the first two games of the season and had 8.5 sacks in the first five weeks, but slowed down in the second half of the season (five sacks in the last ten games due to a stress fracture in his lower leg). Matthews was named to the 2011 Pro Bowl NFC roster for the second year in a row, and he was named to the All-Pro team for the first time in his career. After racking six sacks in the first two weeks of the 2010 season, Matthews was named with the NFL defensive player of the month award for September. Matthews had a career-high 55.0 quarterback pressures. He has been named SN-NFL Defensive Player of the Year and NFC Defensive Player of the Year, as well as the Butkus Award. In the AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year poll, Troy Polamalu came in second (17 votes to 15), despite the fact that both led their defenses to Super Bowl XLV.

With 3.5, the Packers set a single season's record for the most sacks in a single season. He had three tackles, a pass deflection, and a game-changing forced fumble in the Super Bowl, which the Packers defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers. With the score 21-17 in favor of Green Bay and the ball on the Packer 33 yard line, he tackled Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall, who fumbled the ball and was recovered by Desmond Bishop on the first play of the fourth quarter. This play was seen on NFL Films SoundFx, Matthews was mic'd up. Matthews knew the play was coming off the offensive line in the right direction. Ryan Pickett had to "spill it," causing Mendenhall to reroute his running course further from the center of the line of scrimmage. The Packers Hall of Fame has Matthews' instincts on this tone-setting play. The Packers never lost the lead after winning their fourth Super Bowl title and first since Super Bowl XXI, 31–25.

Despite playing 15 of the 16 games, Matthews ended the 2011 season with 50 tackles and a career low six sacks. With 53.5, he led the Packers in quarterback pressures for the third straight season. Although some of his numbers fell from the previous season, he continued to do well in other areas of his game. He had a career-high three interceptions, nine pass deflections, and three forced fumbles. Eli Manning was given his third defensive touchdown in his career by picking off pick-six Eli Manning for his third career. Matthews spent almost exclusively in the LOLB position, not roaming about the field like he did in the previous season due to the poor defense. Matthews did not play a single snap at the ROLB position until Week 11 and ended the season with only seven rushes from the ROLB position. Despite the poor numbers, Matthews said he had his best season ever. Despite leading the pack in interceptions, the Packers struggled to find pass pressure from the side opposite of Matthews and the departure of defensive end Cullen Jenkins due to a career-ending neck injury, and the Packers' failure to find pass pressure. Kevin Greene, a linebacker coach, claimed that he had never seen a pass rusher double teamed as much as Clay did. After averaging 18 people this year, the defensive line struggled, ending the season with six sacks. Matthews was named as a starter in his third straight Pro Bowl. Matthews was named by ESPN as the second-best pass rusher in the league (second only to DeMarcus Ware) and the fourth-best linebacker in the league (behind Patrick Willis, James Harrison, and Ware) prior to the 2011 season.

The defense must improve heading into the 2012 season. Matthews characterized finishing with the 32nd-ranked defense in the NFL as "unacceptable." Nick Perry, Matthews' former teammate, was selected in the draft, but the Packers picked six straight defensive players, including Nick Perry of the Packers out of USC. Perry was moved to the LOLB position he played in his rookie year due to his larger frame (10 pounds heavier) and not being used to playing pass coverage. By drafting Perry, as well as Michigan State DE Jelworthy and Iowa DE Mike Daniels, opposing teams will no longer be able to double-team Matthews consistently, allowing the Packers to open up on both directions.

Sporting News named Matthews as the second best outside linebacker in the league prior to the 2012 season, just behind Cowboys' DeMarcus Ware. Matthews started the season off with a bang. In the 30-22 season opener loss to the eventual NFC champion San Francisco 49ers, he was sacking him followed by a career-high 3.5 sacks against the Chicago Bears on Thursday night. Matthews was one of only six players to get six or more sacks in the first two games of the season, and he was the only player to do it twice. With nine sacks against the Arizona Cardinals, he was second in the league in sacks against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 9. Since his left hamstring started to tighten up, Matthews was forced to leave the game in the second half. He was eventually barred from attending weeks 11 to 13. Matthews, who had been out of action for four weeks due to the hamstring injury, had six tackles, two sacks, and a pass deflection in a 21–13 victory over the Chicago Bears. For the second year in a row, the Packers were crowned NFC North champions. In a 37–34 season-ending loss to the Minnesota Vikings, Matthews had three tackles and a sack. He finished the season with 43 tackles, 13.0 sacks (fifth in the league), two passes covered, and a forced fumble. Matthews was selected to his fourth straight Pro Bowl but was forced to miss due to injury and was recalled for the second time to the All-Pro team.

Matthews was the highest-paid linebacker in NFL history during the Packers' offseason, earning him $66 million over the next five seasons.

Matthews had 41 tackles (26 solo), a team-high 7.5 sacks, and three forced fumbles in just 11 games during the 2013 season. Matthews broke his right thumb and missed the next four games against the Detroit Lions on Week 5, 2013. In a game against the Philadelphia Eagles on November 10, he returned to the playing field, donning a large "club" cast over his entire right hand. Matthews was left to be ineffective throughout this game because he was unable to use his fingers to grab or apply pressure or leverage. He returned to the field the following week with a less restrictive glove that allowed his fingers to remain free. The device seemed to be able to increase his results the following week. Matthews had four tackles against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 11 of the Packers' Week 11, including one sack with the less restrictive unit after completing only two tackles (one solo) against the quarterback against the Philadelphia Eagles, including a sack with the less restrictive equipment. Matthews continued to accumulate 4.5 more sacks and 17 tackles (10 solo) over the next five weeks following the Giants' victory. Matthews refractured his thumb against Ben Roethlisberger in Week 16, the Pittsburgh Steelers' second to last game of the regular season, and was out for the remainder of the season.

The Packers signed veteran free agent Julius Peppers to assist Matthews before the 2014 season. The Packers defense team's offensive coordinator Dom Capers, and head coach Mike McCarthy decided to change Matthews' position during games, swapping him between outside linebacker and middle linebacker as needed. Both Matthews and the Packers defense were paid back by the change, as the defense improved dramatically over the final eight games of the season. After spending the first half of the season in defense, the Packers finished the season ranked 14th in the NFL in total defense. Matthews' sack numbers also increased in the second half of the season. Matthews had 8.5 sacks in the final eight games, including back-to-back two-sack games against the Buffalo Bills and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, after only receiving 2.5 sacks in the first eight games. Matthews finished the season with 11 sacks, 9 passes defense, one interception (his first since 2011), and two tackled fumbles. Matthews started every game during the regular season for the first time in his NFL career.

Matthews helped lead his team to the NFC Divisional Round playoff game against the Arizona Cardinals, losing 26-20 in overtime. Matthews suggested that the Packers should have played the ball in overtime and "go to college rules." He was ranked 56th on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2016.

Matthews was one of the athletes featured in The Dark Side: Secrets of the Sports Dopers, an Al Jazeera documentary about illegal performance-enhancing drug use. (The NFL cleared Matthews and two other of its players of wrongdoing in August 2016, citing "no credible evidence."

Matthews appeared on Afternoon News with John Mercure on Newsradio 620 WTMJ every Friday during the football season.

Matthews appeared in 12 games and nine out of ten. He had 24 tackles, of which 20 were solo, five sacks, and one forcible fumble. Matthews was ranked 82nd by his peers on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2017. Despite a career low in tackles and firings, he was ranked 82nd by his peers in 2017.

Matthews became the Packers' all-time sacks leader after he fired Bears quarterback Mike Glennon on September 28, 2017. Matthews had a big quarterback hit in overtime on December 10, 2017, against the Cleveland Browns. The Packers won by an interception, owing to the Packers' victory. Matthews wore a Clay Matthews Jr. Browns #57 jersey as an homage to his father before and after the game. Matthews had 7.5 total sacks and 3 pass deflections as a result of the 2017 season. Matthews was double-teamed for the majority of the season, finishing with 39 total tackles. Matthews screamed a fumble and recovered a fumble as well.

Matthews, who was pitching to Packers offensive lineman Lucas Patrick in the off-season Green & Gold Charity Softball Game, had a ball strike immediately back to him on June 2, 2018. The line pushed a broken nose for Matthews, resulting in a broken nose; surgery was carried out after. Matthews opted to wear a visor during the Packers' preparation camp for 2018. Matthews wore a Speedflex revolution helmet with an Oakley, Inc. style clear visor. Matthews was called for a controversial roughing the passer penalty that nullified an intercept with 1:37 left in the fourth quarter during Week 2 against the Minnesota Vikings. The game was a 29-29 draw. Matthews was once more called for roughing the passer in the first three games of the season since 2001, as the Packers lost 31-37.

Matthews was fired at Lambeau Field on October 15, 2018. On Monday Night Football, with 3:52 remaining in the 4th quarter on a 3rd & 10 play from the SF 23, Matthews brought down C. J. Beathard at the SF 11 for a significant loss of -12 yards.

Matthews became an unrestricted free agent following the 2018 season.

Matthews signed a two-year deal with the Los Angeles Rams on March 19, 2019.

Matthews made his Rams debut against the Carolina Panthers in Week 1, making three tackles and sacking Cam Newton once the Rams beat the Carolina Panthers. Matthews was fired again by Teddy Bridgewater against Teddy Bridgewater in Week 2 of the New Orleans Saints, winning 27–9. Matthews sacked Baker Mayfield twice against the Cleveland Browns in Week 3 of Week 3. Matthews sustained a fractured jaw and will have surgery after the Rams' 30-29 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. He missed three games and ended the season with 13 starts.

Matthews was activated by the Rams in the offseason on March 19, 2020. He did not play during the 2020 season.

The Denver Broncos reached out to Matthews in the hopes of negotiating a deal, but neither team and the union were able to reach an understanding on September 10, 2020.

Matthews announced his retirement on September 27, 2022, after two seasons out of football. Matthews had said he "wished he'd continued his service in Green Bay," the team that drafted him and won a Super Bowl with in 2010.

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