Adam Butler is one of the many undrafted free agents to thrive under Bill Belichick’s tutelage. The defensive tackle made the New England Patriots in 2017, and though the team has tweaked their scheme from year to year, Butler has remained a solid role-player since his arrival in his rookie season.
The Patriots will want to keep him that way with him entering restricted free agent. They’ll have a tough call placing a tender on him, with a same-round tender (Butler was undrafted) likely leaving him vulnerable to restricted to free agency while a second-round tender would earn him $3.2 million. Perhaps they’ll pay that salary to keep Butler off the market, because a team is unlikely to give up a second-round pick for the defensive tackle.
In 2019, Butler managed to beat out defensive end Michael Bennett for a job in New England’s amoeba defense. And that didn’t seem to sit well with Bennett. But Butler carried on, and finished the season with 473 snaps (47%), six sacks and 26 tackles. Even in an NFL where defensive tackles are racking up huge sack totals, that’s an impressive season.
“He’s been a consistent player for us for three years,” Belichick said during a press conference in October. “Like anybody, he gets better like we all do with experience and reps and technique and so forth. But, he’s been a solid player for us for three years.”
Surely, teams noticed Butler’s significant contributions in New England over the last few years. It’s just hard to imagine him having a robust market in free agency. His production has never dropped jaws. He has a workmanlike approach and a good attitude — he’s a quiet and intellectual player. And he doesn’t care much about standing out. The Patriots are likely to value that about him more than anyone else. They’re also likely to know his value better than anyone else — and so New England will probably retain him — perhaps on that second-round tender — especially with defensive tackle Danny Shelton changing his agent (to Drew Rosenhaus) in an effort to leverage his strong season.
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