The Kansas City Chiefs face a series of interesting questions when it comes to the cornerback position. With the looming free agency of Charvarius Ward and others, the Chiefs face a real quandary in terms of overall talent and depth at the position. It might sound weird to call upon a guy who hasn’t played in over a year, but Malcolm Butler could be an ideal target this offseason.
Recent reports state that Butler is ready to unretire from the game of football after sitting the last year out due to personal business. He was slated to play for the Arizona Cardinals this past season, but he walked away from the game in August after making it through training camp and the preseason for Kliff Kingsbury‘s team.
Butler has never made his reasons known for walking away, but Butler not only announced his intention to return to the game in 2022 but the Cardinals also released him from the reserve/retired list. That means he’s free to sign with any team at any time.
The Kansas City Chiefs would do well to take a close look at free-agent cornerback Malcolm Butler.
Any naysayer for this signing is going to point out two primary things: 1.) Butler hasn’t played in over a year, and 2.) he’s already well into his thirties (he’ll be 32 in March). Given that, it’s natural to assume that his ceiling has declined and that he might need some time to get back into game shape.
But no one should be comparing this to a re-signing of Ward, for example. Ward is a mid-twenties free agent ready for a long-term deal. Butler would be a nice single-season signing to bolster the secondary. No one should view these potential roster moves through a competitive lens. The Chiefs should be interested in both.
What makes Butler so intriguing is that he was, hands down, the Tennessee Titans best defensive back in 2020 and was only released because his cap number was too great to handle at the time. The Cardinals came in with a guaranteed offer of $3.5 million and Butler took it, joining an exciting young team with fellow all-in vets like J.J. Watt and A.J. Green. That is, until he decided to walk away.
When playing, Butler is known for being a sticky corner who limits the route options for opposing receivers for the way he trails closely and utilizes the sideline as an extra defender. He’s smart and comes with plenty of experience that will likely help him age well in the secondary as a player who spent years with the New England Patriots at the start of his career (and comes with relevant postseason experience).
In his last full season in Tennessee, he had 100 tackles with 14 passes deflected and 4 interceptions. Opposing quarterbacks only had an 83.2 passer rating when throwing toward him, which is far below the league average (93.6).
If Butler was willing to sign a single-season deal for $3.5M just a year ago and then he walked away, it feels like a safe assumption that he might be a potential signing for even less for the Chiefs. If they could grab him on a one-year, $2.5M deal, for example, the results could be surprisingly strong and could really strengthen the Chiefs’ secondary around young players like L’Jarius Sneed and Rashad Fenton.