Adam Butler had two goals this season — proving he was an every-down player and getting a better contract. He accomplished one… so far.
This past offseason, the Raiders made a big splash at defensive tackle, adding Pro Bowler Christian Wilkins. Shortly thereafter, they made another move that flew more under the radar, but ultimately even more impactful — they brought back Adam Butler.
Butler had proven himself to be a valuable rotational, situational interior defensive lineman. Enough so that he thought he would garner better offers as a free agent in the offseason. But his contract goals never materialized, so ultimately he returned to the Raiders on a one-year, $1.9 million deal.
In my eyes, Butler had proven himself last season and the Raiders needed to be aggressive in getting him back. To their credit, they seemed to realize what the market would be for Butler and got him back on their original offer. For Butler, that meant he simply hadn’t done enough to raise his visibility around the league.
“I have a new attitude. I really do. I want to be seen,” Butler said during training camp. “I want to show up because I still feel like in this league I have something to prove. And I want to prove it to my teammates, I want to prove it to my coaches, and I want to let everyone know I’m here. I’m not going back to just being third down. I’m here, I’m here for the early downs, the whole thing.”
Butler was candid about his goals to get a better contract. And that proving he was an every-down player was the key to getting it.
He did that this season.
Over his first six NFL seasons Butler had compiled 13 total starts. This season, he has 14 starts already.
He has seen the majority of the snaps in every game this season, including surpassing 76% of the snaps 10 times — something he accomplished just once over his first six seasons in the NFL.
His sack (3.5), tackle for loss (seven), and QB hit (eight) numbers are at or near the same as they were last season. But his 57 combined tackles (32 solo) is already a career high by a wide margin. In fact, those numbers are approaching the levels of even his two best seasons combined (62).
Not to mention the things he does that don’t even show up on the stat sheet. Including his energy and locker room presence.
“With the loss of Christian [Wilkins], I think he’s really done a good job. . . handling his business,” Antonio Pierce said of Butler. “From batted balls, which I think we’re one of the top teams in, and he’s one of the best at doing it, from him reading screens. Going back to Baltimore and chasing down the screen play. His hustle, his effort, his energy, he does that little street fighter move, ‘Hadouken,’ all that good stuff. That gets everybody fired up. So, his energy and his brightness and his love for game is contagious.”
These are qualities his teammates, like Maxx Crosby and Christian Wilkins will no doubt go to bat for.
It’s safe to say Butler has achieved his goal of proving he is an every down player, with the ability to rush the passer and stop the run with equal proficiency. And he is a tremendous presence as a teammate as well. The Raiders have taken notice. If the rest of the NFL has noticed as well, the Raiders better make sure their contract offer to him reflects that.
