Throughout the 2017 offseason, there were a ton of rumors surrounding cornerback Malcolm Butler's potential exit from the New England Patriots. Butler wanted a long-term deal but the Patriots instead assigned him a first-round tender worth $3.9 million in restricted free agency, which dissuaded other teams from offering him an agreeable deal because they'd have to surrender not only enough money to get Butler to agree to sign, but also their first-round pick.
Butler's agent contacted other teams in an effort to get them to sign him to a long-term deal, but it never materialized. By mid-April, Butler simply signed the restricted free-agent tender. And that came after the Pats traded away their own first-round pick for former Saints receiver Brandin Cooks and handed former Bills cornerback Stephon Gilmore the largest deal the Patriots have ever given to another team's free agent.
A full season later, Butler's free-agent future is once again in doubt. If it were up to him, however, he'd be staying in New England. Asked this week whether he wants to stay with the Patriots, Butler responded, "without a doubt," according to the Providence Journal.
He specifically denied that he's looking at the Super Bowl as his last opportunity to play for the Pats. "I'm just looking at it like I've got a great opportunity to play in another Super Bowl," Butler said. "And I just want to get this win and just enjoy it with my teammates and whatever happens, happens. Whatever is going to happen in your life is going to happen. You don't know what's going to happen, so you can't even stress yourself about it. I'm just living in the moment, man. A great moment."
The Patriots currently have about $19 million of cap space this offseason, according to Spotrac, but they can create additional room by cutting ties, for example, with No. 2 tight end Dwayne Allen, who has a $5 million cap hit for 2018 with none of it guaranteed. They can create in excess of $2 million more room by parting ways with running back Mike Gillislee, who fell out of favor over the course of the season and doesn't seem guaranteed of a role on next year's team. There are several other moves they can make to open up enough space to sign Butler to an agreeable long-term deal and still have room left over to fill holes on their defensive front.
Of course, that all assumes the Patriots even want to bring him back on a big-money deal. They've been willing to let better players than him walk over financial concerns before, and it would not be a surprise if they were willing to let Butler leave for greener pastures as well.
