Matthews would have filled Packers’ gaping hole at inside linebacker

The Green Bay Packers had paper-thin at inside linebacker before the start of training camp, with Blake Martinez and Oren Burks being the only two experienced players at the position. That depth has been torn up in training camp, with Burks out indefinitely with a pectoral injury and his potential replacement, undrafted rookie Curtis Bolton, out indefinitely with a knee injury.

The Packers have only themselves to blame, because they let a good inside linebacker walk out the door in free agency.

“I was kind of taken aback, because I thought I’d always be back there, whether it was at a cheaper price [or not],” Matthews told NFL.com. “So that was kind of a shock, because [my family] stayed out there and had our third child in the offseason, and I was hanging in town training there and everything. And, yeah, that was kind of a surprise to me because I just figured I would be out there a few more years. People say, ‘You chose to go to L.A.’ I didn’t choose. They told me there was no room for me.”

General manager Brian Gutekunst made the right call in blowing up his outside linebacker corps. Matthews (3.5) and Nick Perry (1.5) combined for just five sacks last season. That lack of game-changing production was the death knell of a mediocre defense under first-year coordinator Mike Pettine. In a sweeping revamp of that critical position group, Matthews and Perry (released) were let go and replaced by veteran free agents Za’Darius Smith and Preston Smith and first-round pick Rashan Gary.

Matthews, however, would have been an asset at inside linebacker. He helped save the 2014 season when he moved from outside linebacker to inside linebacker at midseason. That might have been the best all-around season of his career, with Matthews piling up a career-high 71 tackles while moving to the edge on passing downs and adding 11 sacks. He spent 2015 bouncing back and forth between positions to earn a second consecutive Pro Bowl invitation.

At the end of last season, Matthews signaled an openness to return to the team with a position of change. He reiterated that stance to the team as it started formulating its plans for 2019. Matthews took one for the team in switching positions in 2014, 2015 and again in 2016 and he was willing to do it again to stay with the team for which he spent his first 10 NFL seasons.

“I feel like I can do both,” he said in December. “This scheme actually has asked us to do a multitude of stuff that I was doing back when I was playing inside linebacker – just from an outside linebacker perspective with the games we run, dropping into coverage and all that goes along with it. I’m not opposed to anything. I feel comfortable. It’s not like when I switched to inside linebacker that I wasn’t comfortable playing it. It was just different. If you’re heading into a season knowing that’s what expected and that’s what you’re going to excel at, then so be it. I still think I can rush the passer. Obviously, the numbers are down this year but … I’m not too worried about the numbers. When you put on the film, you can see that I can play in space and I’ve had success there doing it and backed it up and, at the same time, I’ve had success on the edge. It just depends on if the Packers or anyone else wants a multidimensional guy that, yeah, is 32 but still has a lot of ball in me. If genetics show anything, I have a few more – several more – years.”

Matthews, a California native who played his college ball at USC, signed a two-year, $9.25 million contract with the Rams. With the door closed in Green Bay, it was a no-brainer decision, considering Matthews was building a home a short distance from the Rams’ facility. He took a hometown discount to go to the Rams and he would have taken one to stay with the Packers. Green Bay wasn’t interested, though. Matthews’ cap number for this season is $3.5 million; the Packers have $14.35 million of cap space, according to the latest league data.

Perhaps Gutekunst will be proven correct but, at this stage of August, the Packers have a glaring hole that Matthews would have happily filled.

“Obviously, everybody would love to finish out their career in one place and I’m no different,” Matthews said in December, agreeing that he’d look incredibly odd in another team’s jersey. “I would love to stay here but it has to make sense. That’s the part of free agency, with a new coaching staff, you’ve got to see the fit. There’s a worth that you feel about yourself. Everything has to come together. If that’s the case, I’d love to be a Packer for several more years.”

Instead, Matthews will be a featured piece on a defense of the NFC’s prime Super Bowl contender. And the Packers are wondering who on earth will line up with Martinez on Sept. 5 in Chicago.