Green Bay Packers: Is Aaron Rodgers trying to bring Clay Matthews back?

In order for Aaron Rodgers to return to the Green Bay Packers for the 2021 season, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter put it, there were several “concessions” that had to be made on management’s part.

One of which, and the most unexpected, was that Rodgers wanted the team to trade for former teammate Randall Cobb. And, of course, the Packers obliged.

But is Rodgers trying to flex his muscles once again? A recent Instagram post may suggest that he is.

Rodgers, along with Cobb and David Bakhtiari, all posted photos of former Green Bay Packer Clay Matthews, with the caption “sup?” and Rodgers specifically saying, “bring him back.”

Matthews last played for the Green Bay Packers in 2018 after a dominant career with the team. During his 10 seasons in Titlteown, Matthews was named to six Pro Bowls and one All-Pro team. He tallied 83.5 sacks, 482 total tackles, with 121 of them coming for a loss. Matthews also added six interceptions, five forced fumbles, and scored six touchdowns.

Matthews then spent the 2019 season with the Los Angeles Rams, where he still came up with some impact plays, recording eight sacks, nine tackles for loss, and three forced fumbles in 13 games. He would not play in 2020 after not signing with a team.

Where exactly Matthews would fit in this defense is one of the big questions, along with how much gas does he have left in the tank? Especially after not playing last year.

With Za’Darius Smith, Preston Smith, and Rashan Gary, there aren’t exactly many extra snaps to go around at the edge rusher position, but perhaps Matthews could slide into that fourth edge rusher role, ahead of Jonathan Garvin and Tipa Galeai, and be utilized on obvious passing situations.

But then the question becomes, who do you take off the field? I don’t want to see The Smiths or Gary losing reps for Matthews.

Or maybe, Matthews moves over to inside linebacker, a position change that many fans were clamoring for before his time in Green Bay was originally up. De’Vondre Campbell and Krys Barnes appear to have cemented themselves as the top-2 linebackers on this team, but with the uncertainty around Ty Summers and Oren Burks, along with Kamal Martin’s injury history and inexperience, perhaps Matthews could be a third option–providing some rest for the starters.

Of course, this is all just guessing on my part, and honestly, at this time, I’m not sure what to make of this. My gut says that this won’t happen; however, when Rodgers posts something to his Instagram story, in the past it has alluded to what’s coming–the Last Dance photo being a prime example of this.

We also don’t know how Brian Gutekunst will feel about this demand or how willing he will be to make this move happen. If Rodgers is indeed trying to make this happen, he’s likely trying to see how far he can push that line and how willing Green Bay is to keep him happy. At some point, you’d think that Gutey is going to have to say no.

I mean, Matthews did just turned 35, and he hasn’t played since 2019, after all. If this signing is made, it’s not as if the Green Bay Packers are going to be getting the 2014 version of Matthews.

I suppose there is also the possibility that this could be some inside joke being played by Rodgers, Cobb, Bakhtiari, and Matthews. We just really don’t know right now.

So I guess we will wait to see what happens, and if Matthews is back, we can try to figure out where he fits in this defense, what his role might be, and ultimately what this means for Rodgers’ relationship with Packers management. But if anything, this is certainly interesting.

According to Over the Cap, the Green Bay Packers have $12.7 million in available cap space.