Malcolm Butler, who left the franchise at the end of the 2017 season, will sign a 2-year contract worth up to $9 million with the New England Patriots.
Free agent cornerback Malcolm Butler returns to the Pats after being with the Tennessee Titans and Arizona Cardinals for the past four seasons where he failed to thrive.
The terms of the new contract have not been specifically disclosed, so it is not actually known how much money is guaranteed for the cornerback. However, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN, Butler’s representative Derek Simpson revealed that it will be a deal for two seasons and for $ 9 million dollars.
After the 2017 season, he signed a contract with the Titans for five seasons for the amount of $ 61.25 million dollars, but in the end he only spent three years with the Tennessee franchise, with whom he participated in 42 games, including regular season and playoffs, and got nine interceptions. In March 2021 he moved to the Cardinals, but saw no action with the franchise after notifying that he was thinking about retirement, they placed him in the retirement reserve.
Butler was removed early February from the Arizona team’s retired reserve list after announcing he wanted to continue his career. The next step was to agree to a return to the franchise that gave him the first opportunity in the NFL.
Malcolm Butler’s Career
Malcolm Butler appeared in the NFL in the 2014 season, after New England added him to their ranks in May that same year. In his rookie season he played 11 games, and managed to record 15 tackles and three passes defended, despite only having started one of those games.
He became a Figure for the Pats in Super Bowl XLIX after making an interception on the goal line following a pass from Russell Wilson to Ricardo Lockette. Thanks to his intervention with 26 seconds left on the clock, the Patriots regained possession and secured the 28-24 win over the Seattle Seahawks.
The 32-year-old is very present in the memory of Patriots fans and will look for a way to give them new joys, but first he must secure a place as an initial cornerback, although it seems that he has guaranteed after the departure of cornerback J.C. Jackson, who went to the Los Angeles Chargers in this free agency.
Malcolm Butler is now a more experienced player, having appeared in 100 NFL games in seven seasons and has a record of 17 interceptions, two touchdowns, 406 combined tackles and three sacks. With his return to the New England franchise, rumors that the player had left the team due to problems with head coach Bill Belichick, who decided not to line him up in Super Bowl LII, where the Pats lost to the Philladelphia Eagles, were cleared.