Rams LB Clay Matthews Says Packers Didn't Want to Re-Sign Him in Revealing Story

Clay Matthews will be entering his first season with his hometown Los Angeles Rams, so you can imagine he's glad to be back on the West Coast playing in better weather.

However, the former Green Bay Packer is also surprised he won't be suiting up for the green and gold. He opened up about how things went down in his final days as a Packer.

“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 said via Pro Football Talk. “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." 

The Packers didn't have room for an iconic rush linebacker who was willing to come back for less money? What was Green Bay thinking?

Instead of bringing Matthews back, the Packers decided to spend big money on the outside linebacker position in free agency, bring aboard Za'Darius Smith and Preston Smith, while also using their first-round pick on Rashan Gary, who will wear Matthews' No. 52.

Whether Matthews thought it was going to happen or not, the Packers clearly replaced him and are moving on to a new era of Green Bay Packer football.