New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick made the region collectively “hmm” by reducing cornerback Malcolm Butler’s snaps Sunday against the New Orleans Saints.
Butler has started every game for the Patriots since his Super Bowl XLIX heroics and played at least 87 percent of snaps in those games. He played just 75 percent of snaps Sunday, and that number was higher than it could have been because cornerback Eric Rowe, who started over Butler, suffered a groin injury. When Rowe left, Butler took over as the No. 2 cornerback.
We’ve seen this before from the Patriots. Linebacker Jamie Collins went from 100 percent of snaps in the Patriots’ fourth game of the 2016 season to 82.5 percent in Week 5, 89 percent in Week 7 (he missed Week 6 with an injury), 61 percent in Week 8 to the Cleveland Browns in Week 9. The Patriots traded Collins, who was on the last year of his contract and considered perhaps the team’s top defender, for a third-round draft pick.
Butler is considered one of the Patriots’ best defensive players. He’s on the last year of his contract. And unlike with Collins, trade rumors swirled around Butler all offseason. It would be a far lesser surprise for the Patriots to trade Butler midway through this season than it was for them to move Collins in 2016.
Like with Collins, there’s a strong case for the Patriots to keep Butler through his contract. If Butler’s not the Patriots’ best cornerback, he’s 1BÂ to Stephon Gilmore. There’s a considerable gap between Butler and Rowe and Jonathan Jones, the Patriots’ next best cornerbacks. If the Patriots want their defense to be as strong as possible in 2017, they would keep Butler.
But also like with Collins, there’s an argument to be made for trading Butler. It seems highly unlikely Butler will be on the Patriots in 2018 as he prepares to enter free agency this offseason. The Patriots could receive a 2019 compensatory draft pick if he gets signed away in free agency, but there’s also a chance they wouldn’t. Comp picks are decided by a complex formula. And if the Patriots signed a big-name free agent over the offseason, that would cancel out losing Butler.
So, in trading Butler, the Patriots would be guaranteed some sort of compensation for losing the cornerback, which seems to be an inevitability. The Patriots also have better depth at cornerback than most teams. Butler is the better player, but Rowe still showed he was starting-caliber last season with the Patriots. Patriots head coach Bill Belichick raved about Jones on a conference call this week after he broke up two passes against the Saints.
Ultimately, it’s best in the short-term to hold on to Butler and smart in the long-term to trade him. It might be worth getting a look at Rowe over the next few weeks to see how his groin holds up before the Patriots make a decision on Butler. If Rowe plays like a starting-caliber cornerback and stays healthy, Butler could be on the move before the season is over.
It would unfortunate to lose the Super Bowl hero, but it appears to be going that way regardless.
Thumbnail photo via Troy Taormina/USA TODAY Sports Images
