The Panthers hosted former Cardinals wide receiver Hakeem Butler for a visit on Wednesday, according to the league’s transactions report.
The Panthers hosted former Cardinals wide receiver Hakeem Butler for a visit on Wednesday, according to the league’s transactions report.
Butler was a fourth-round pick by Arizona in the 2019 NFL draft coming out of Iowa State. He spent his rookie year on injured reserve and the Cards cut him just before the 2020 season began.
While he’s on his way to earning a bust label, Butler has tantalizing athleticism (36-inch vertical) and size (6-foot-5 and 227 pounds), which helps explain the interest. Carolina never really replaced tight end Greg Olsen after he was released and their biggest receiver – the undrafted rookie Omar Bayless – was placed on injured reserve after undergoing knee surgery.
This organization should know as well as any that size doesn’t necessarily make a capable receiver, though. Kelvin Benjamin had a similar frame and he’s currently a free agent after flaming out.
There’s one report that the team is expected to sign Butler to their practice squad but there’s no official word from the Panthers as of yet.
The Washington Football Team is not resting on its laurels after a big-time win over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. According to the NFL transaction wire, Washington brought in seven players to work out for the team on Monday, potentially leading to them signing someone to the practice squad or active roster. Here are the guys they worked out, including five wide receivers, one tight end, and one quarterback:
WR Jeff Badet
WR Hakeem Butler
WR Quartney Davis
WR Codey McElroy
WR Dillon Mitchell
TE Temarrick Hemingway
QB J’Mar Smith
It’s obvious from this that Washington is in the business of adding some depth to their wide receiver corps, as well as at the tight end position. One of the more interesting names on that list is Butler, who was released by the Arizona Cardinals earlier this year, and wh Washington was said to have interests in coming out of the NFL Draft.
“It’s just one of those deals, sometimes it’s better for both sides to have a fresh start, and we felt that was one of those instances.”
One of the notable cuts the Arizona Cardinals made last week was not even on final cutdown day on Saturday. The Cardinals released 2019 fourth-round pick, receiver Hakeem Butler, on Friday.
Butler spent all his rookie season on injured reserve and did not progress as much as was hoped, entering his second season.
Butler is an intriguing talented because he has rare size, speed and athleticism, and he had monster production in his final season at Iowa State.
Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury believes in Butler’s talent but felt it was time to move on for both Butler and the team.
“He’s a talented young man. We really like Hakeem,” Kingsbury told reporters on Monday. “It’s just one of those deals, sometimes it’s better for both sides to have a fresh start, and we felt that was one of those instances.
“He has a tremendous upside, and we still think he could be a really good player in this league. It just wasn’t working here, and so, we allowed him to go somewhere else. I hope it works out for him because we did enjoy him while he was here.”
Butler did not get claimed off waivers following his release and also did not sign with any team’s practice squad. He did have a workout on Monday with the New York Jets.
Jets Wire takes a look at five recently cut players that New York should consider targeting.
The cut deadline has come and gone, but that does not mean the Jets are done filling out their 53-man roster.
There are numerous intriguing players at positions of need now available on the open market for New York to target. That Jets are not going to land a game-changing talent at this point in the summer, but there are plenty of opportunities for Joe Douglas to bolster New York’s depth chart before Week 1.
With that being said, here are five notable players cut by other teams that the Jets could target.
Rasul Douglas
AP Photo/Matt Rourke
The Jets need help at cornerback and Rasul Douglas is familiar with Joe Douglas. That makes him the most likely notable cut to land in New York.
A third-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, Douglas endured an up and down three-year tenure with the Eagles. Despite being one of the few corners on Philadelphia’s depth chart with the ability to stay healthy, Douglas was frequently passed over on the depth chart. He started 18 games for the Eagles but did not make much of an impact, recording 25 pass breakups and only five interceptions.
Douglas’ durability should make him a priority cornerback target for the Jets. At this point, all New York needs at the position is an experienced player that can stay healthy.
The former fourth-round pick had no takers despite his size and speed.
The Arizona Cardinals announced a few of their initial cuts on Friday, as they must get the roster down to 53 players by Saturday afternoon. Among those cuts were receiver Hakeem Butler, their fourth-round pick from a year ago.
They didn’t want to necessarily cut him. While they didn’t want to keep him on the final roster, they attempted to get something for him.
According to SI.com’s Albert Breer, the Cardinals were shopping Butler, seeking trade him to another team. They were unsuccessful in doing so.
The Cardinals were trying to trade Butler over the last week. No takers. Lots of the analytics people loved him ahead of the 2019 draft. https://t.co/DnbGFCpFdl
Butler never got to play a down for the Cardinals. He had one preseason appearance in 2019 before suffering a hand injury that landed him on injured reserve before the season, ending his rookie year before it started.
With no preseason this year, no team had the opportunity to scout him.
While he has a rare combination of size, speed and athleticism, he never was quite able to stand out.
He was highly thought of coming out of the draft but was considered raw. Perhaps he was just unlucky to get hurt when he did and then to have the pandemic change the game this offseason, but he will surely get another look with someone else at some point.
Last year’s fourth-round pick is let go even before the final day to make roster moves.
The Arizona Cardinals entered the day with 74 players on their roster and have until Saturday afternoon to get get it down to 53. They announced five moves on Friday to get the roster down to 69 players.
They released four players outright, including last year’s fourth-round pick, receiver Hakeem Butler.
Getting released along with Butler were offensive lineman Sam Jones, defensive lineman Miles Brown and punter Ryan Winslow.
Offensive lineman Brett Toth was waived/injured. He has an issue with a hamstring. If he clears waivers, he will revert to injured reserve.
Butler is the most prominent player to get cut. Brown was the only undrafted rookie to make the team last season, but when the Cardinals signed Jordan Phillips and drafted Leki Fotu and Rashard Lawrence, it was going to be hard for him to make the team.
Jones and Winslow never really had a shot at the roster.
That leaves 16 cuts the Cardinals will need to make by Saturday at 1 p.m. Arizona time.
After final cuts are made, they will be able to assemble a 16-player practice squad.
Since he might get cut and might not make it to the practice squad, why not try and get something for him?
The Arizona Cardinals and the rest of the NFL are approaching the roster cutdown date and trades are coming. Some will be big and others will be minor.
But what are the trades that need to happen, that work for everyone?
He writes they should trade second-year receiver Hakeem Butler to the New York Jets.
Hakeem Butler was one of the darlings of the draft community in the run up to the 2019 NFL Draft, but he fell to the fourth round, despite his mix of size, athleticism and ball skills. Now with the Arizona Cardinals, there are signs that Butler could be out of a job sooner than expected, and may in fact be on the roster bubble.
After all, the Cardinals acquired DeAndre Hopkins via a trade with the Houston Texans during free agency, and still have Christian Kirk and Larry Fitzgerald on the roster. Sure, Arizona runs 10 personnel (four wide receivers) more than any other team in the league, but in training camp both Andy Isabella and KeeSean Johnson have performed well, while Butler seems to be lagging behind.
If the Cardinals are looking to perhaps simply cut him, perhaps they could at least get something in return for him before just letting him go. That leads us to the New York Jets, who seem to need an injection of talent into their wide receiver room. Rookie Denzel Mims has been limited in training camp with a hamstring injury, and the team added Chris Hogan recently to bolster the position.
Butler might not have panned out in Arizona, but his size and ability to get the football would make him at least an option in the Jets’ offense. Considering the cost might be minimal, it is worth the roll of the dice for a team looking to find any way to put points on the scoreboard.
Butler might not make the roster this year, especially if they determine that tight end Dan Arnold is going to be a legitimate fourth option as a pass catcher.
Because of Butler’s physical traits, he would very possibly get claimed by a team after cuts and keep the Cardinals from putting him on the practice squad, so getting something for him would be ideal.
There would have to be interest and, considering he missed last season and there isn’t really any tape since he was drafted for teams to evaluate, the Cardinals might be hard-pressed to find a partner.
But if the Jets would part with a Day 3 pick, the Cardinals should pull the trigger.
“He’s been working hard this offseason,” said coach Kliff Kingsbury. “He knows what we expect of him, and what we think he can be.”
While the Arizona Cardinals acquired receiver DeAndre Hopkins in a trade this offseason, they decided not to draft a receiver in part because they believe in the young receivers they have. They selected three in the NFL draft in 2019.
The trio of Andy Isabella, Hakeem Butler and KeeSean Johnson combined for 30 receptions. However, Butler did not play at all last season, as he spent the year on injured reserve after having broken his hand in the preseason.
In terms of development in training camp, Butler appeared to be the furthest behind and was unable to practice all year.
However, head coach Kliff Kingsbury has not lost any belief in Butler and still expects him to be able to be productive.
“Tons of ability,” Kingsbury said in a video conference with reporters. “He’s healthy. He’s been working hard this offseason. He knows what we expect of him, and what we think he can be. I’m really excited when we can finally get him back on the field.”
Butler adds a dimension to the receivers room they don’t have with anyone else. He is the tallest receiver they have. He is long and fast.
Playing time will be a battle for the young receivers, as the Cardinals already have Hopkins, Larry Fitzgerald and Christian Kirk as their top three.
If Butler can take a step forward in this offseason, he has the potential to be a big-play threat this year. He might not put up huge numbers in terms of quantity of receptions, but they could be for big plays.
Kingsbury: “We’re excited to see how they take that next step in Year 2, so I would say that definitely had to do with how the draft went.”
The Arizona Cardinals did not draft any receivers this year, which was a surprise to many, considering the perceived quality of the draft class at the position. Many have said it was one of the deepest receiver class ever.
But the Cardinals used three draft picks a year ago to select receivers.
So was bypassing receivers in the draft a sort of vote of confidence in Andy Isabella, Hakeem Butler and KeeSean Johnson?
“Definitely,” said Kliff Kingsbury in a video call with reporters earlier this week. “We liked a lot of the receivers in the draft but we also like the guys that we took last year. We like how they progressed.”
The 2019 rookie receivers didn’t produce much. Butler spent the year on injured reserve. Isabella had nine catches and Johnson had 21.
Kingsbury expects them to produce more in 2020.
“It was tough getting on the field because we had some guys that were playing really well, but we’re excited to see how they take that next step in Year 2,” he said. “So I would say that definitely had to do with how the draft went.”
They did acquire DeAndre Hopkins using their second-pick, so it isn’t as if the Cardinals completely ignored the position. They added a star. They just didn’t add more young receivers.
2020 will be a big season for the three second-year players. It will again be tough to get on the field, as Hopkins, Larry Fitzgerald and Christian Kirk are the top three wideouts on the team.
The Cardinals’ free agent additions will have the same numbers they did with their previous team.
The Arizona Cardinals now have jersey numbers assigned for all their players, including their newcomers. That has meant, in some cases, that players who were already on the roster had to change theirs.
Here are the jersey numbers for the new Cardinals players.
WR DeAndre Hopkins: No. 10
LB De’Vondre Campbell: No. 59
LB Devon Kennard: No. 42
DL Trevon Coley: No. 93
DL Jordan Phillips: No. 97
QB Chris Streveler: No. 15
These returning players have changed their numbers, some because of the newcomers.
WR Hakeem Butler goes from No. 17 to No. 18
S Chris Banjo goes from No. 38 to No. 31, previously worn by David Johnson
LB Dennis Gardeck goes from No. 42 to No. 45 to accommodate Kennard
DL Zach Allen goes from No. 97 to No. 94 to accommodate Phillips
