The New England Patriots will look completely different next season after losing 20-year figurehead Tom Brady to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in free agency. According to a recent story by Darren Hartwell of NBC Sports, the Pats were flirting with the idea of adding a big name on defense via free agency themselves.
Per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler in Hartwell’s story, there was league-wide speculation that the Pats would sign veteran pass-rusher Clay Matthews before the 2020 NFL Draft. Instead, the team opted to trade up to select Josh Uche out of Michigan at No. 60 overall, who had studied the Patriots defense while playing for the Wolverines.
Alongside the legendary Brady, the Patriots' linebacker corps of Kyle Van Noy, Jamie Collins and Elandon Roberts all bolted in free agency. That only fueled the speculation that New England would make a move for the 34-year-old Matthews.
Matthews spent the first 10 years of his career with the Green Bay Packers, accruing six Pro Bowl selections, one All-Pro season and even a Super Bowl ring in 2010. Matthews has 91.5 sacks in his 11-year career, which is good enough for sixth among all active players – and top 50 all-time.
The former USC Trojan is tops all-time in Packers history with 83.5 sacks in his 10-year career there. But he was signed by the Los Angeles Rams in March 2019, then summarily cut one year later by that same team. As of this writing, the decorated pass rusher is still unsigned – but that will surely change as the season gets closer.
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