Clay Matthews -- the pass rusher -- might be back. Finally.
The Packers linebacker, who's spent a significant portion of the past couple years filling a hole at inside linebacker, indicated this week at OTAs that he might be moving back to the outside, which he called his "most natural" and "most impactful" position. As reported by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, head coach Mike McCarthy said the "majority" of Matthews' practice reps so far this summer have been taken at outside linebacker.
And that should make Matthews happy.
"No, I didn't walk out of there with a smile on my face," Matthews said, according to the Journal Sentinel. "It's always good to put the season in perspective, and understand where you're at and what you're going to work on moving forward. But with those exit interviews, it's always difficult because there's a lot of things you want to get off your chest from the season, and things you feel personally or as a team or even on a coaching level you'd like to see improve.
"As I've continued to say, I think (outside linebacker) is my most natural position, my most impactful position, and I think we'll see that on a more consistent basis this season."
Julius Peppers agreed with Matthews' assessment.
"I think that's his natural position," Peppers said. "He's going to get back there where he can put more pressure on the quarterback. I think it's going to help out the team in a lot of different ways."
Of course, the key to Matthews' return to the outside will be how the team's young inside linebackers fare. If Jake Ryan, a fourth-rounder a year ago, and Blake Martinez, a fourth-rounder this year, struggle in a large role, that might force Matthews to abandon the edge.
And that's one reason why the Packers' refusal to sign a more reliable solution at inside linebacker this offseason didn't make any sense, as we wrote in our NFC North offseason review. Packers general manager Ted Thompson never likes signing free agents -- a strategy that has worked well in Green Bay -- but grabbing a sure-fire inside linebacker would've been the team's best offseason move, because it would've guaranteed Matthews' return to the outside. Former Broncos linebacker Danny Trevathan, who ended up latching on with the Bears, even indicated after signing that he wanted the Packers to give him a call.
Though Matthews served as a fine inside linebacker, he's lethal as a pass rusher. Since entering the league in 2009, Matthews has tallied 67.5 sacks. Yet, according to ESPN, only 37.1 percent of Matthews' snaps this past season came at outside linebacker. Through the first five years of his career, he played outside linebacker on 92.7 percent of his snaps.
"I've always tried to be a team player," Matthews said. "I think I kind of exemplified that in making the switch. I don't think many players would do that with the success I'd like to think I had on the outside, but I think it really helped this team out.
"You look statistically where we went as a defense both in rush statistics as well as pass, but I think at the end of the day they see my most natural and most impactful position as a pass rusher."
Again, he's not wrong. It took two seasons, but the Packers finally seem to agree.
