A lot of people have questioned whether Clay Matthews is worth keeping around at his salary. A case for keeping him with Pettine coming in.

http://packerswire.usatoday.com/2018...thews-in-2018/

Pettine likes to play multiple fronts, with disguised blitzes and coverages. It’s a scheme that could help revitalize Matthews’ ability to disrupt, possibly even as a pass-rusher.

Former NFL safety Jim Leonhard recently described Pettine’s defense as flexible and creative. That sounds exactly like what Matthews needs. He needs a playcaller capable of finding the right matchups and creating the right situations for playmakers to take advantage. The days of Matthews lining up every down on the edge and beating left and right tackles all afternoon are gone. Get him moving around and good things happen. Pettine will find ways. It’ll be one of his top priorities.

Ideally, the Packers would love for Pettine to find Matthews the perfect new role and inject some life into his game, all while grooming a young rookie – presumably a top pick – to be the defense’s next true difference maker.

Clearing a big chunk of cap space is a tempting scenario, but the Packers will be better off in 2018 with Matthews on the roster.