By Jordan Long
Cornerback Malcolm Butler is considering retiring from the NFL. He is dealing with a personal matter that has not been announced. It could be time for him to walk away from the NFL game.
Butler started his NFL career with the New England Patriots in 2014 but didn’t play much. He appeared in 11 games and totaled 15 tackles. The Patriots went all the way to Super Bowl 49. Butler played an important role on defense. He is most remembered for picking off Russell Wilson in the end zone when Wilson was trying to throw a slant pass to Ricardo Lockette from the 1 yard line with 26 seconds left in the game. Of course, many people thought Seattle should have run the ball with Marshawn Lynch. Butler’s pick sealed the Super Bowl victory.
In 2015, he became the starting cornerback playing in all 16 regular season games. He recorded 2 interceptions and added 67 tackles. The Patriots once again earned a playoff spot but were beaten by the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship game.
2016, Buttler had his best season for New England. Quarterbacks couldn’t look his way without the ball being tipped or intercepted by him. Butler ended up with 4 interceptions, 63 tackles, and 17 passes defended. In the playoffs, he didn’t do much with 11 tackles and 1 pass defended. New England ended up going all the way to Super Bowl LI and beat the Atlanta Falcons 34-28.
2017 was his last in New England. Butler totaled 60 tackles and 12 passes defended. New England looked to defend their Super Bowl title in Super Bowl LII. For whatever reason, Butler didn’t play any defensive snaps in the game. He may have made a difference on defense, but we will never know. New England lost 41-33 to the Philadelphia Eagles. The Patriots let Butler walk during the offseason.
Butler agreed to a 5 year, $61 million contract with the Tennessee Titans on March 13, 2018. Tennessee hoped this was going to upgrade the secondary. Butler not only had NFL experience, but also played in key playoff games. This was going to help Tennessee win. In his first year, Butler had 69 tackles, 3 interceptions, and 12 passes defended.
His top year for the Titans was last year. Butler ended up with 100 tackles, 14 passes defended, and 4 interceptions. Even though he had a great year, Tennessee decided to release Butler on March 9th, 2021. This was going to save them $10 million in cap space.
Butler agreed to a 1-year, $3.5 million contract with Arizona. It could pay him up to $6 million with incentives. Butler is now mulling leaving the game. Arizona doesn’t know what is going on with Butler, but they are still getting ready for week 1 against the Tennessee Titans.
Butler might choose to walk away from the game. He has done a lot that many players dream of doing. Every players’ goal is to win a Super Bowl ring. Butler won 2 of them and earned a spot in one Pro Bowl. Butler totaled 17 interceptions in his career. If Butler retires from the game, at least he will be remembered for the interception in Super Bowl 49 that sealed the victory. Although he could pick to come back and play for Arizona this year. Time will only tell what Butler decides to do.
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