Is he really surprised? There are only so many numbers to go around. 90 players in TC. 6 retired numbers. There are not a lot of options out there.

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Personally I am surprised as the Packers normally seem to try to hold off on putting it on someone at the exact same position who is surely going to make the roster.

Like a TE is wearing Nelson's number now instead of a WR. Or give it to a jag for one year, and then someone who'll make the roster.

If this was one year removed then I wouldn't be surprised at all...

My pure wild guess is they gave Gary a list of the open roster numbers and he choose that one, vs them selecting it.

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i took it more as Clay having fun with it but i suppose we should err on the side of cynicism instead

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Not really sure how I feel about it. But I’m pretty sure he picked the number himself. I saw on Gary’s caption of an Instagram post “5-2=3”. He wore the #3 in college, and obviously that is not an option at his position in the NFL.

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I figured he was having a little fun. Mostly.

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Agreed. Yet, some are saying they're convinced Clay is butt hurt. I mean, that's exactly the kind of person we've seen since 2009. Someone who's hyper sensitive and easily butt hurt. 🤔🙄🙄

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My opinion, this is much to do about nothing. Clay knows the business... it was a funny quip.

In the chance it wasn't and he his "butt-hurt", so what. He moved on.. we moved on. Life in the NFL.

No scandal, no drama, just a business decision. This seems like trying to create drama and a story line.

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I would think any player seeing his number given to another guy would be bothered by it. Even if both sides moved on.
The thing is, had Mathews kept playing as he did his first couple of years here, they might not have let him go.
To me, he seemed to have lost something, or just didn’t give it all the last several seasons.
He seemed like a prima dona, and was always saying “look at me!” By his actions.
Maybe I’m wrong. It just seemed he was more in love with himself.

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He lost his speed, which was his money maker. It was incredibly evident this season.

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I can certainly see why you might feel that way. While his actions on the field were certainly attention drawing for me they were more of an extension of excitement and exuberance and they didn't fit the bill for me as a typical prima donna. To me being a prima donna carries over to off the field antics as well and I certainly never saw that from Clay. To me his off the field persona never really meshed with his on the field theatrics.

I think his comment about his number was nothing more than a little joke which seems perfectly in line with they way I always perceived him.

I can very easily see him becoming the next Jennings or Finley in the minds of many Packer fans. He was a player that many fans felt was way overpaid by the end of his career and some fans like to hold that against players. I get the impression that a lot of fans will be willing to turn on him in a heartbeat at the first sign of anything negative coming from him. I've seen it to a small degree already with this little non news story. People telling him to get over it and calling him butt hurt and crap like that. Just wait until he dares breath anything that can be construed as remotely negative about Rodgers and he will become the next ex Packer pariah.