Listen to Greg Matzek's full conversation with former Packers and new Washington safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix tonight at 6:15 on Sports Central on WTMJ. Click here to listen live to WTMJ.
Ha Ha Clinton-Dix says he has a solid handle on how pro football is a business. Yet in his one-on-one conversation with WTMJ's Greg Matzek, the veteran safety shared both painful feelings in leaving Green Bay and high energy for his new assignment in Washington after the two teams completed a trade Tuesday.
"I'm excited. It's bittersweet. I've been here for five years. This is all I know, is Green Bay. I'm excited to be a Washington Redskin," Clinton-Dix told Matzek.
"It was (disappointing), but I had already been told before I got to the draft that the NFL is a business. It's a business mind. (As a player,) put your thinking cap on."
Clinton-Dix explained that he saw the writing on the wall a bit when entering his contract year with the Packers, no discussions were happening between his agent and Packers brass.
"Going into my fifth year, there wasn't a deal on the table. There wasn't even talk. I knew my time was coming to an end, or felt like it was coming to an end. Watching previous players like Tramon Williams try to come back, Micah Hyde, Casey Hayward, great players that love Green Bay, would do anything for the city and this team, sent other places. (I'm) just following history."
Clinton-Dix had a sense something could be up last week before the Packers-Rams game.
"There was a lot of trade talk throughout the week. Even before the game, I was hearing I was on the trading block. I just blocked the noise out," Clinton-Dix told Greg.
"I knew coming into Monday and Tuesday, the ball was in (somebody) else's court. The time is now."
Clinton-Dix had meaningful words for Packers fans.
"To this community, to Green Bay, it's been great to me. The fan base, atmosphere, Titletown, the community, the police, the Brown County Courthouse (where he completed a judicial internship,) it's something I'll always cherish and remember forever," he said.
"To the Green Bay loyal fans, thank you for this opportunity, and Go Pack Go."
