GREEN BAY, Wis. Former outside linebacker Clay Matthews was looking for just the right opportunity to continue his playing career in 2020. He didnt get it. Turns out, that was OK, as Matthews learned while enjoying dinner and a cold one.I thought it was pretty telling when the games came on and I enjoyed having a beer and smoking some fatty meats on Sunday as opposed to feeling that anxiety of gameday, Matthews said in a Zoom interview as part of a promotion with Tide laundry detergent. I thought that was pretty telling. I do feel like I couldve played a few more years and, who knows where I wouldve ended up, but Im OK with it now. Ive fallen into this next chapter of my life, which is being a dad and helping my kids out and being at home. Seth Jones Men Jersey Everythings good. Everythings great.Matthews had a great career with the Packers. A first-round pick in 2009, he recorded 83.5 sacks and was selected to six Pro Bowls in 10 years with the team.Matthews mi ses playing but, like most retired players, he mi ses the camaraderie of the locker room most of all.You dont get that anymore when youre talking to your kids, Matthews said. The inappropriate jokes, you can throw political correctne s aside and just have fun because youre all in this for a common goal. Fortunately, I still have good relationships with a number of guys still on that team as well as the Rams for whom he finished his career in 2019 . Whether its through text or Instagram or whatnot, just shooting them something quick to keep that relationship going and still feeling like youre a part of it. Thats the thing that you mi s the most. Obviously, the succe s and the gameday and this and that, but just that everyday interaction, me sing with the boys, is something that you cant replicate when youre done playing.Asked about his favorite memory in his decade with the team, Matthews started with life in Green Bay. A few months ago, he and his wife went down a rabbit hole of memories, including pizza at Gla s Nickel and Rustique and fun with the kids who are now 3, 5 and 7 at Pamperin Park Jordan Schroeder Kids Jersey .Once the kids are old enough to recognize what I was able to do and the accomplishments we had, then probably bringing them through Lambeau will be fun to them, taking them on the field, Matthews said. Theyll get to see Titletown again, Im sure, will remind them of going down the (tubing) hill and all that. You play for so long, you get some fond memories. Ultimately, just the time there especially with it being an Pierre-Luc Dubois Men Jersey amazing organization just how fortunate and lucky I was to have ended up there with a quarterback like Aaron Rodgers .Scroll to ContinueOn the field, two memories stand out. One is what everybody recalls. Between the third and fourth quarters of Super Bowl XLV against the Steelers, the late outside linebackers coach to step up and make a play in the wake of Charles Woodsons broken collarbone. On the first play of the quarter, Matthews forced a fumble. The Packers recovered and Rodgers threw a touchdown pa s to make it 28-17.For the very next play to have an inkling of what was going to happen, direct a few people around in front of me and make a big play that we went down and scored another touchdown at a time when they were marching and they had some momentum, yeah, it kind of gives you some chills, Matthews said. Watching that, seeing my late coach, young me in a game that was over my head as far as the implications of what it meant for not only me and the team but for the city of Green Bay and everybody else whos a fan, yeah, that is a play that I enjoy when fans bring up.The other came during his rookie season.My favorite play is probably the Monday night game it was Ian Cole Kids Jersey Brett Favre and Rodgers up at the Metrodome in 2009, Matthews recalled. We lost but I stripped Adrian Peterson and ran it back 42 yards for a touchdown and just chucked the ball in the stands. That one was truly memorable for me because I was just trying to keep my head above water at the time. I wasnt starting at the time but, naturally, youre coming into the NFL and youre just trying not to screw up any plays. To make a play like that that burst me onto the scene, ultimately, sticks out because it embodied where I was going in my career.As part of the Tide promotion, , Matthews is telling fans that its OK to wash that lucky jersey. After being in a locker room for so many games, I understand how dirty and smelly these things can get, he said.Its important to smell good. And look good. Matthews, like most players, put great importance in looking good on gamedays. To that end, hes not impre sed with rookie linebacker Quay Walker.The new linebacker, No. 7, he looks like a rookie, Matthews said. Nick Foligno Jersey I go, Who is that? He looks like a rookie. His spat job, it looks like hes a rookie. Hes got the single white tape so he doesnt get fined by the league. No real swag. But hes playing well, Ill give him that. Ultimately, youve got to look good. Youve got to have the towel hanging just right, the wrist tape, if you spat your ankles. When it gets cold out there in Green Bay, you rub those arms down with Vasoline. Theres a science to it.