Dolphins agree to terms with former Patriots DL Adam Butler

If you thought that the Miami Dolphins’ pipeline to the New England Patriots was going to quietly fade away, you’ve got another thing coming. The Dolphins, led by Brian Flores, have tapped into their head coach’s old stomping grounds for their latest agreed free agency addition. Reports came out this morning that former Patriots defensive lineman Adam Butler has been added to the mix and will sign a deal with the Dolphins this afternoon when the league calendar year officially opens at 4PM EST.

The most interesting bit of the Dolphins’ addition of Butler is that the team bid farewell to veteran DL Davon Godchaux just the other day, with Godchaux headed north to New England. So the Dolphins and Patriots have swapped free agent defensive linemen — but the economics of the deal seem to indicate that Miami has gotten a more appealing end of the pseudo-exchange. Why? Godchaux’s reported deal in Foxborough comes in at 2-years and up to $16M for his services, whereas the Dolphins will have Butler under contract on a 2-year deal worth a reported maximum of $9.5M.

And you can make the case that Butler is the more high-impact player. Comparing their production, Butler has an advantage over Godchaux in sacks (13 to 3), tackles for loss (18 to 11) and QB hits (20 to 14) over the last three seasons of play from 2018-2020. And Godchaux has played in 231 additional defensive snaps over that three year window despite missing the majority of the 2020 season due to injury.

Miami fans are eager for the Dolphins to make a splash. But these kinds off supplemental moves are the kind that will help Miami’s defense continue to grow, evolve and level up from their major leap forward in 2019 to 2020. The Dolphins’ offseason execution may not have been perfect or ideal in the early chapters, but this move feels like a winner.