After a strange offseason, Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler is back to work. Butler has reported to Foxborough to participate in voluntary workouts, as NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo reports.
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Butler was a restricted free agent this offseason and the Patriots contemplated life without him after adding Stephon Gilmore in March. The Saints had serious interest in Butler, but they were unwilling to part with the No. 11 overall pick in the draft to get him. There were some discussions about a sign-and-trade scenario that would give the Patriots lesser draft compensation for the cornerback, but those talks did not result in a deal.
After signing his RFA tender, Butler will play out the season on his $3.91MM one-year tender. While he was hoping for a lucrative long-term deal – like the one the Saints were willing to give him – he’s not going to stay away from the team to express his frustrations.
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I still doubt he will be back next year unless something crazy happens. If he does end up leaving the Pats need to grab a CB in the 1st round of the draft next year or spend big next year on a CB like Rodes but I doubt that will happen(but will have to wait and see how Gilmore does, that will determine if they spend big money on a CB again