Super Bowl hero Malcolm Butler ends NFL retirement, rejoins Patriots
A redemption story is underway in New England.
After visiting with the Patriots on Monday, Malcolm Butler is officially returning to Foxborough. According to Butler’s agent Derek Simpson, Butler is signing a two-year deal with the Patriots worth up to $9 million.
The move instantly improves the Patriots secondary and brings back one of the greatest stories in NFL history.
Butler, 32, briefly retired from the NFL last year and returns to the place where it all started. The cornerback came to the Patriots in 2014 as an undrafted free agent from Division II West Alabama.
After barely playing in the regular season, Butler made one of the greatest plays in Super Bowl history when he intercepted Russell Wilson on the goal line to secure the Patriots' fourth championship.
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Butler became a Super Bowl hero and a stout cornerback for the Patriots. In 2015, he replaced Darrelle Revis as the Patriots’ No. 1 cornerback and earned Pro Bowl honors. In 2016, he was even better, finishing with four interceptions and 17 passes defended en route to second-team All-Pro honors.
For Butler, however, it all came crashing down during the 2017 NFL season. For reasons unknown, Butler didn’t play a single defensive snap during the Patriots' Super Bowl 52 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. He led the Patriots in defensive snaps and played 100% of the team’s defensive snaps in the playoffs up until that game. Butler then departed New England, signing a five-year, $61 million deal with the Tennessee Titans.
Butler was in Tennessee from 2018-20. In his last season, he finished with four interceptions to go with 14 passes defended. He singed with the Arizona Cardinals last year but stepped away from the game due to what the team called “personal” matters.
Now, Butler returns to Foxborough. He’s certainly needed. The Patriots lost No. 1 cornerback J.C. Jackson, who signed with the Los Angeles Chargers. The Pats added veteran cornerback Terrence Mitchell and also have Jalen Mills, Jonathan Jones, Shaun Wade, Myles Bryant and Joejuan Williams on the depth chart.
With Butler, the Patriots bring back a talented cornerback who knows their defensive system well. Jackson’s departure created a giant hole in the secondary, and if all goes well, Butler could be a solution to filling the team’s need for a top cornerback.
With Tyreek Hill being traded to the Miami Dolphins, the Patriots certainly needed help in the secondary.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Malcolm Butler rejoins New England Patriots to end NFL retirement
