As recently as mid-November, Seahawks wide receiver Chris Matthews was a street free agent, free to sign with any club.
That’s one of the elements of Matthews’s story that figures to be told time and again if the Seahawks win Super Bowl XLIX. The 26-year-old Matthews has helped shake Seattle out of the doldrums on Sunday, hauling in four passes for 109 yards, including an 11-yard touchdown to tie the game at 14 at the end of the first half.
Entering Sunday, the 6-foot-5, 218-pound Matthews had played just 28 snaps all season, per Pro Football Focus data. He was perhaps best known to NFL fans for recovering the Packers’ muffed onside kick in the NFC title game. He didn’t have a single catch in three regular season games with Seattle or either of the club’s first two postseason games.
In fact, before Sunday night, Matthews might have had the greatest recognition with Canadian Football League fans.
A University of Kentucky product, Matthews was the CFL’s Most Outstanding Rookie in 2012, catching 81 passes for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. However, the following season, he was hampered by injury, recording just 14 catches.
However, Matthews did enough to draw the interest of the Seahawks, who signed him last February. (According to Sports Illustrated, Matthews worked as a security guard and at Foot Locker in between the CFL season and joining Seattle.)
Matthews managed to hang around through the preseason, but he was waived on August 30 in the reduction to 53 players. Initially, he latched on to the Seahawks’ practice squad, but he was released on September 3. Matthews would re-sign with Seattle’s practice squad on October 29, but his spot was tenuous; Seattle released him six days later.
On November 18, Matthews was added back to the practice squad. Eighteen days later, the Seahawks promoted him to the 53-player roster, where he has stayed since.
And on Sunday night, he became a surprisingly major contributor for Seattle in the club’s biggest game of the season.
