Should The Cleveland Browns Pursue Clay Matthews? It Starts With Knowing Where He'd Play

There's been talk locally about whether the Cleveland Browns should pursue Clay Matthews in free agency. There's a case he could help the Browns, but there's a lot of confusion with Matthews as well.

In free agency, there was a sentiment from some fans and media that the Cleveland Browns should sign Clay Matthews. Recently, it has re-surged. Matthews has racked up 91.5 sacks, 17 forced fumbles six interceptions and a Super Bowl over the course of his impressive 11-year career. An argument that includes fan service and nostalgia, there is also a little bit of confusion with Matthews and what position he would actually play depending on the person making the case for the son of the former Browns great.

One argument for Matthews is that he would provide a benefit to the young Browns linebacker room. And maybe he can, but it's important to note that Matthews hasn't been an off-ball linebacker since 2015. His last four seasons have been as an edge rusher including this past year with the Los Angeles Rams.

Maybe he could be a SAM linebacker that attacks the quarterback, which could have him in some linebacker meetings, but if he's an edge rusher, he's going to be spending most, if not all his time with Myles Garrett and Olivier Vernon. That's not to say he can't benefit players like Sione Takitaki, Mack Wilson and Jacob Phillips, but that was a big reason they went out and signed B.J. Goodson. Not nearly the heralded name, he's a consummate professional that also plays special teams.

For those that do view Matthews as an edge rusher and see his value as a rotational player up front along with Adrian Clayborn, there's a case to make. Matthews produced eight sacks last year for the Rams, which is a nice number, especially for what could be a fourth rusher on this team.

Pro Football Focus gave Matthews a grade of just 54.2 for last season, which is pretty mediocre. Consider that Porter Gustin, the 23-year old pass rusher brought in for the latter half of 2019 when Garrett was suspended and Vernon was hurt, was graded by PFF by 65.6 for the 225 reps he played last year. Gustin had just one sack. It's unclear which metric the Browns find more appealing, though their draft seemed to coincide with PFF's ratings more than it didn't.

Maybe Matthews is worth a look, but at 34 years old as of May 14th and after 11 years in the NFL, the Browns may not see the fit. Given where their roster is, they might not want to bring in Matthews for one year, hoping they can use that roster spot to mold a younger player that might have a longer term future.

The Browns may have reason they haven't pursued Matthews at this point. They could still bring him in when training camp does finally open up and see what he can bring, but to this point, it hasn't seemed like either side is in a hurry to do anything.