Tennessee Titans cornerback Malcolm Butler was having a great season in 2019 until he broke his wrist in Week 9 against the Carolina Panthers.
Butler was placed on Injured Reserve a few days later and missed the remainder of the season, including the Titans’ incredible postseason run.
The cornerback, who signed a five-year deal worth $61.25 million in 2018, is ready to make his return in 2020, according to Jim Wyatt of Titans Online.
“Oh, I’ll be ready to go,” cornerback Malcolm Butler said earlier this month. “Being out half of the season last year, it made me appreciate everything even more. It made me hungry. When you get football taken away from you, you appreciate it more. I’ll be ready to help the team, most definitely.”
Butler also said he’s “excited for the future” and that he’s been “working out, getting ready” for the 2020 campaign.
Butler’s Titans tenure got off to a rocky start during his first season in Nashville in 2018, but he picked up his play later that season and was named as a “Second-half star” by Pro Football Focus.
The 30-year-old carried that momentum into 2019 and continued his solid play before getting injured. There was obviously a clear drop-off in the Titans’ secondary without Butler, and that drop-off was even more pronounced when Adoree’ Jackson was forced to miss time, also.
While it was hard for him to have to watch from the sideline, Butler was proud of what his teammates were able to accomplish in their run to the AFC Championship Game.
“It was exciting,” Butler told Wyatt. “I felt good about the team, my teammates. It was bittersweet, but as long as the team was winning I was doing fine. I was there to support them, that’s just who I am. It was frustrating that I couldn’t play, but I was so proud of my team and my teammates for going on an incredible run.”
Butler remains an important piece of the Titans’ defense in 2020 — and that’s especially true considering the team could see an overhaul of sorts in the secondary if Logan Ryan doesn’t return.
His massive contract does leave his own future beyond this season in doubt, though.
Butler’s 2021 salary will be a robust $14.2 million, but he carries a dead cap hit of just $4 million. In the end, that might be more than the Titans are willing to pay, which could lead to him getting cut.
There has been a lot of speculation that the Titans could go with an outside cornerback early on in the 2020 NFL Draft. If they do, that could be the writing on the wall that Butler will be gone next offseason.
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