Saints GM Mickey Loomis tried to play it cool when asked about his team’s pursuit of Patriots restricted free agent cornerback Malcolm Butler (via Larry Holder of The Times Picayune).
“There’s not a lot I can say. We’re kicking the tires I guess,” Loomis said. “That’s the way to describe that. We’ll see how that process works.”
The Saints have presented the corner with a contract offer, but not an offer sheet. The Saints would like to work out a trade with the Patriots in which they can land Butler without forfeiting the No. 11 overall pick, but so far the Patriots are acting as though they will not play ball.
Here’s more on Butler and other news from the NFC South:
- Saints coach Sean Payton termed the Butler situation as “an exploratory mission,” (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com). Payton, from Rapoport’s perspective, seemed to indicate that the team has hit pause on a potential deal.
- When asked about the possibility of signing Butler to an offer sheet and giving up the No. 11 overall pick, per the terms of the first-round tender, Payton said, “I know we’re not going to do that.” (Twitter link via Phil Perry of CSNNE.com).
- Saints head coach Sean Payton says the team will meet with Joe Mixon during the draft process (Twitter link via Holder). New Orleans previously met with Mixon in early March. This week, we learned that the Patriots and Dolphins have both ruled out the controversial Oklahoma running back.
- Panthers coach Ron Rivera said he’ll be at Leonard Fournette‘s LSU Pro Day and added that no spot is “too high” to take a running back (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com). Recently, Panthers GM Dave Gettleman indicated that the team’s recent extension for Jonathan Stewart will not preclude the team from taking a running back early on in the draft. The Panthers own the No. 8 overall pick.