FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Cornerback Malcolm Butler’s comeback season ended on Tuesday when the New England Patriots put the former West Alabama standout on injured reserve.
The Patriots did not disclose Butler’s ailment, but he had not practiced since the Patriots’ 23-21 preseason loss to the New York Giants on Thursday. Butler made one tackle and recovered a fumble while on the field for 23 defensive snaps and two special-teams plays.
Butler had signed with New England on March 23 after not playing during the 2021 season.
In a span of nine months, Butler worked his way from a tryout player at New England’s rookie minicamp to the savior of Super Bowl XLIX for the Patriots.
Butler saved New England’s 28-24 victory over the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX on Feb. 1, 2015, as a lightly used rookie inserted into the Patriots’ secondary in the second half. With Seattle at the New England 1-yard line and less than one minute to play, Butler intercepted a pass at the goal line on the Seahawks’ final snap of the game.
Butler will have to wait at least another year to don a Patriots uniform. Butler’s departure reminded Devin McCourty, a captain and three-time Super Bowl champion, that there are few like him left in the locker room. So McCourty, 35, reached out to tell him to stay close to the facility.
“Tough, man. Malcolm’s kind of in my stratosphere of being older, and I think any time you go through that, it’s tough mentally,” McCourty said. “I texted him the other day just from all of us … I’m fortunate I’ve never been on IR, but the feeling of not always being around the team, the camaraderie, the brotherhood we build, you kind of miss some of that stuff that within your group.
“(I’m) always staying in contact with those guys and encouraging them to come in.”
During the NFL’s centennial celebration in 2019, Butler’s interception was chosen as the fifth-greatest play in league history.
The next year, Butler earned Pro Bowl recognition, and the year after that featured another NFL championship. But after playing in four AFC championship games in four seasons with New England, Butler left in free agency for the Tennessee Titans’ five-year, $61.25 million contract.
Over the next three seasons, Butler intercepted nine passes and made 201 tackles in 41 games with Tennessee. But with Butler set to count $14.2 million against their 2021 salary cap, the Titans released the cornerback with two years left on his contract.
Butler signed a one-year contract with the Arizona Cardinals, then never made it to the season. He retired before the 2021 campaign, citing personal reasons.
In addition to Butler, the Patriots placed cornerback Joejuan Williams on injured reserve on Tuesday. Williams is reportedly dealing with a shoulder injury.
ANOTHER DAY, another fight at joint practices between the New England Patriots and Carolina Panthers.
Following Tuesday’s pair of scraps during practice, the Patriots and Panthers were at it again Wednesday after a contentious pair of plays. The end result was a large scrum among players, with three players ejected and both sides’ coaches gathering players to address the fighting.
The trouble started during a kickoff session when Patriots receiver Kristian Wilkerson was hit hard by Panthers defender Kenny Robinson. Wilkerson was down for a while before being carted off the field.
Tensions remained high after the play as the teams moved to 11-on-11 drills. On the first play of drills, Panthers star Christian McCaffery was popped hard by Patriots defensive end Deatrich Wise and sent tumbling out of bounds. McCaffery responded by throwing the ball back at the Patriots, which wound up sparking the brawl.
Wise appeared to draw the ire of Panthers players for his hit on the star running back. Videos from the stands showed Wise in a scrap with Panthers players before being pushed into the front of the stands where fans were seated for practice.
According to reports, a woman in the stands was hit on the foot by a helmet during the incident, but she refused medical attention. The Patriots’ medical team came over quickly to check on her, with the team also offering her tickets to a game.
The fracas, which broke out right in front of fans in the stands, grew as players ran in from far ends of the field to join the crowd.
Players were eventually separated and gathered around their coaches as Patriots Coach Bill Belichick and Panthers Coach Matt Rhule both addressed their teams.
After things cooled down, Wise was ejected for the Patriots. Meanwhile, Robinson and running back Chuba Hubbard were tossed for the Panthers.
The teams eventually resumed drills as tensions cooled.
The Patriots and Panthers meet in a preseason game Friday night at Gillette Stadium.
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