The Baltimore Ravens were hungry for pass rushers last offseason. After losing Za’Darius Smith and Terrell Suggs in free agency, Baltimore tried to find affordable options to fill their roster. One player they showed quite a lot of interest in was outside linebacker Clay Matthews. After the Green Bay Packers moved on from him, Matthews apparently had a choice between the Ravens and Los Angeles Rams.
With Baltimore going 14-2 while the Rams failed to make the playoffs, it seems pretty obvious that Matthews chose poorly.
According to NFL Network’s Michael Silver, Matthews joked that with some hindsight, he signed with the wrong team.
Yes. Matthews nearly signed with the Ravens last year, and he joked that in retrospect he should have signed with them. I'd keep an eye on Baltimore as a potential landing spot. It would make a lot of sense. https://t.co/o89mlIovHY
— Michael Silver (@MikeSilver) March 19, 2020
Though some had though Matthews might be on the downside of his career, Los Angeles got quite a lot of production from him. Matthews posted eight sacks over 13 games for the Rams last season and had 28 total pressures.
Matthews could be an attractive option for Baltimore, who still need help at outside linebacker after using the franchise tag on Matthew Judon. While the Ravens don’t have a ton of salary-cap space currently, according to Over The Cap, Matthews is likely to be signed on a cheap short-term deal anyway.
Matthews signed a team-friendly contract with Los Angeles last year that ultimately turned into a one-year deal when they cut him. He only ended up being a $3.5 million cap hit for 2019, according to OTC. More importantly to Baltimore is that by the Rams cutting him, he won’t count against the compensatory pick formula which the Ravens love to game for additional picks.
With Baltimore’s need and Matthews potentially wanting to fix a previous mistake, the Ravens make a lot of sense to land him this offseason.
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