For the first time since being released by the Tennessee Titans, new Arizona Cardinals cornerback Malcolm Butler spoke in length about what went down earlier this offseason.
With the Titans in a tight spot financially, they decided to part ways with Butler, who was due to make $14.2 million in 2021. That saved the team a whopping $10 million for this coming season.
It was one of multiple moves Tennessee made in what amounted to a purge of the secondary. It was also a decision that was probably a bit harder to make than expected after the veteran was arguably the team’s best defender in 2020.
During his first press conference since joining the Cardinals, Butler addressed the situation with the Titans (H/T Pro Football Talk):
“This is the NFL. It’s about business, the cap space, they had some trouble with that,” Butler said. “I was going to make a ton of money this year if I’d have stayed with the Tennessee Titans. And I’m pretty sure they needed help in other positions, so I wasn’t that surprised. But I was. But it’s business. No bad blood with that. They’re just doing what’s best for the team.”
After spending some time on the open market, Butler ultimately inked a one-year deal worth up to $6 million with the Cardinals, which is in the ballpark of what we expected he’d make as a free agent.
Butler really came on strong during his final season in Nashville, but his cap hit was simply too high for the Titans to pay, and clearly higher than what he was worth, soft market or not.
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