Cardinals Sign LB Donald Butler

SATURDAY, 8:25am: The deal also includes a $40K roster bonus, tweets ESPN’s Josh Weinfuss.

FRIDAY, 1:35pm: It’s a one-year, $800K deal for Butler, Adam Caplan of ESPN.com tweets.

WEDNESDAY, 2:08pm: The Cardinals announced that they have signed linebacker Donald Butler. To make room for Butler on the roster, the Cards released inside linebacker Quayshawn NealyDonald Butler

Butler, who has seven career sacks and three interceptions to his credit, played well enough in both 2012 and 2013 to earn a lucrative extension after the 2013 season. However, he struggled in 2014 and 2015, leading to his release earlier this offseason. Brown, 29, was set to enter his contract year before the Bolts cut him, absolving themselves of a $500K roster bonus, plus a $3MM base salary in the fall. By dropping him, they wiped that entire $3.5MM from their cap.

If he makes the roster, Butler will bring experience to Arizona’s inside linebacker corps. Aside from their latest addition, the Cards have Deone BucannonKevin Minter, Alani Fua, Gabe Martin, and rookie Lamar Louis at inside linebacker, as shown on Roster Resource.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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