The New England Patriots were reportedly interested in including Malcolm Butler in a trade that allowed them to acquire star wide receiver Brandin Cooks from the New Orleans Saints, but they never got the opportunity.
Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk was told by a source that Butler’s decision to not yet sign his restricted free agent tender prevented the Patriots from including him in trade discussions. Butler is technically still not under contract as he hopes for a long-term deal, so New England doesn’t own his rights.
Of course, Butler’s status as a restricted free agent makes it more costly for another team to sign him. If a team signed the 27-year-old cornerback to an offer sheet, the Patriots would have a chance to keep him by matching the offer. If they chose to let him walk, the team Butler signed with would have to give the Patriots a first-round pick.
In effect, Butler blocked himself from being traded to New Orleans. That probably has more to do with his desire to sign a long-term deal before accepting that he has to play the 2017 season for just $3.9 million (the value of the restricted free agent tender), but that’s still the way it worked out.
We don’t know how serious the Patriots are about moving on from Butler, though there have been rumblings that they still could look to deal him even after landing Cooks. Butler may be a legend in Foxboro for making one of the greatest plays in NFL history (video here), but Bill Belichick’s decision to pay Stephon Gilmore $40 million guaranteed doesn’t bode well for the Super Bowl XLIX hero’s future with the Pats.
