Butler back in Foxboro, but why?
Pats and CB need each other
Malcolm Butler was in Foxboro Monday. He was with Mac Jones & Co. taking part in Day 1 of organized team activities with the Patriots.
Seems like a dream, doesn’t it? Or a late April Fool’s joke?
In so many ways, it just doesn’t compute.
Think of Kyrie Irving returning to play with the Celtics next season. Or David Price coming back to pitch for the Red Sox. It seems so twisted. With all the past baggage involved from the first goround, why would either side want to get back together?
Butler went from Super Bowl hero, to the cornerback Bill Belichick controversially benched in Super Bowl LII even though his secondary was getting torched by the Eagles. Historically, it’s a sore spot that just won’t go away.
The reason remains one of Boston sports’ greatest unsolved mysteries, and neither side has shed much, if any, light on the subject. It’s like Belichick and Butler made a blood pact that neither will break.
Butler, who spoke with the media on Monday in a video conference following the workout, remained steadfast in keeping the world guessing.
“I’m moving forward from that. I know it’ll always be there,” he said. “I haven’t said anything to anybody about anything. You’re just going to have to keep doing your research or whatever you gotta do. Cuz, I’m here for the Patriots. I’m here to be peaceful.”
Yes, a detente for the ages. According to Butler, it was Belichick who reached out to see if he was willing to come out of retirement. It was the Patriots head coach who took the first step toward a reunion.
Why would Butler, who walked away from the Cardinals last year for personal reasons, even entertain coming back to a head coach who triggered one of his worst professional nightmares? And why would Belichick want a player he felt compelled to bench in the biggest game of the year, to come back, dredging up old history?
The answer is actually fairly simple. It can be summed up in four words: They need each other.
Mutual need can conquer any animosity or hard-feelings. That, and money, of course.
Butler didn’t exactly get a huge deal to return, signing for two years for up to $9 million, with just $750,000 guaranteed. But after taking a year off in “retirement” to get his head together, Butler needed a soft landing spot. He needed familiarity.
After sitting out most of the year, he was back in a better place mentally, and had the itch to return. It actually gave him a boost to hear that Belichick wanted him. It was just the jolt that was needed to get him off the couch.
The Patriots?
After letting J.C. Jackson walk in free agency, they were beyond thin in the secondary, specifically at outside corner.
Belichick knows Butler. He’s familiar with him, and what he brings to the table. Despite what went on in the Super Bowl, Belichick wants players he’s comfortable with out on the field. Butler also wouldn’t be like a new player coming in and having to learn the defense.
So it made sense on some level to both sides.
The bigger question now is what a 32-year-old Butler can bring to the table. Because the Patriots really need him to be what he was in his final year with the Titans, when he posted career highs with 100 tackles and four interceptions.
They need him to be a No. 1 corner, or close to it, playing opposite of Jalen Mills, or whoever else might be out on the boundary.
Butler insists that’s what the Patriots are going to get. He said Belichick knows that he’s “up for the challenge” and will take on any role the coaches have in mind.
“I’m confident, I (still) got it. I’ve worked hard,” he said. “I (didn’t) sit on the couch all offseason. I’m confident in myself. I wouldn’t be here if the Patriots didn’t think the same.”
Basically, Butler chalked up his being able to return to the Patriots as a product of not having burned bridges with Belichick or the Patriots.
Sure, he was hurt, and made his feelings known to Belichick, but he didn’t necessarily throw a fit.
“You can’t just say anything and act all wild and stuff like that,” he said. “It was tough, but you can’t dwell on things in the past. I’m looking forward … focus on the main thing that matters the most.”
Ultimately, the two hashed out their differences not long after that Super Bowl, came to grips with whatever happened to force the Patriots head coach to keep Butler on the sidelines, and are now once again on the same team.
If the reunion works out, it’s a win-win for both sides.
“I wasn’t even predicted to come back to the New England Patriots, so I’m just going to let everything play itself out,” said Butler. “I’m just going to do whatever I gotta do to help the team win.
“Whatever my role is, that’s what I make it. I’m just going to work hard, lead, do the right thing, and do the best I can. Whatever opportunity I get, I’m going to take advantage of.”
With a group of corners that didn’t come close to stopping the Bills, the Patriots do need the Super Bowl hero to return. That’s the Butler they’re banking on, not the one who remained on the sidelines for Super Bowl LII.