NFL free agency opened four days ago, and we still don’t know for which team Malcolm Butler will suit up this fall.
Butler has yet to sign the first-round restricted free-agent tender the New England Patriots placed on him last week — the equivalent of a one-year contract that would pay him $3.91 million this season — and speculation about the cornerback’s future has been rampant.
The Boston Herald’s Jeff Howe added more fuel to that fire with a string of tweets Monday morning.
The highlights, all according to Howe’s source: Butler wants to be a “Patriot for life,” he’s garnered interest from other teams, and he viewed the five-year, $65 million contract New England gave free-agent cornerback Stephon Gilmore last week as a “gut punch,” since he’d been told the Patriots wouldn’t pay any corner more than $10 million per year.
Also, though he’s reportedly unhappy with his contract situation, Butler “doesn’t have any plans to hold out,” per Howe’s source.
Malcolm Butler has received interest from several teams, per source. Don't be surprised if the action picks up with Butler this week.
— Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) March 13, 2017
All that said, I was given a strong indication Butler prefers to be a "Patriot for life." He wants to make it work in New England.
— Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) March 13, 2017
Patriots offered Butler somewhere around $6M to $7M annually last season. Butler hoped to be paid in the ballpark of a top-10 CB.
— Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) March 13, 2017
Patriots told Butler last season they wouldn't pay a CB more than $10M annually, so the Gilmore contract was definitely a gut punch.
— Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) March 13, 2017
If nothing happens with Butler and he remains a Patriot with the $3.91M tender, he doesn't have any plans to hold out.
— Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) March 13, 2017
Butler has been the Patriots’ No. 1 cornerback since Darrelle Revis’ departure in 2015. The Super Bowl XLIX hero earned Pro Bowl honors in his first year as a starter and was a second-team All-Pro this season, leading New England with four interceptions and 17 pass breakups.
Though $3.91 million is a bargain for a player of Butler’s caliber, it still would represent a sizable raise for the 27-year-old, who made just $600,000 in salary this past season.
Thumbnail photo via Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports Images
