Atlanta Falcons: 5 Free agents to sign before training camp
5. Clay Matthews
One player that is still on the open market on the defensive side of the ball that could potentially help the Atlanta Falcons going into the 2020 season is veteran linebacker Clay Matthews.
This offseason, Atlanta has worked to try and improve its pass rush and group as a whole on the defensive side of the ball, and adding a veteran player in the middle of the defense to assist in those efforts makes a ton of sense.
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Matthews, who turned 34 years old in May, wrapped up his 11th season in the NFL in 2019 with the Los Angeles Rams. Prior to that, he spent a total of 10 years with the Green Bay Packers since breaking into the league in 2009 as a first-round draft pick.
Last season, Matthews appeared in 13 games for the Rams before he was released by the team during the offseason along with new Falcons running back Todd Gurley. During his 11th season as a professional, Matthews tallied 37 combined tackles along with 27 solo tackles, 11 quarterback hits, nine tackles for loss, eight sacks and two forced fumbles for Los Angeles.
Matthews is a player that holds a lot of experience and could provide a valuable veteran voice to the defense and the locker room in Atlanta to try and help the team return to the playoffs in 2020. He also has a decent amount of playoff experience stretching back to his time in Green Bay, which could also help the Falcons for at least this season.
Primarily, Matthews is an outside linebacker and has been for the entirety of his career, but he also has experience as a pass rusher and could be a versatile piece that could prove to benefit Atlanta.
As the Falcons continue to address their needs this offseason leading into the new year, Matthews could be a cheap veteran piece to consider signing in 2020.