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Adam Butler

AFC West Notes: Brown, Chargers, Raiders

February 10th, 2023 at 12:18pm CST by Sam Robinson

Orlando Brown Jr. will command either a second franchise tag, another lucrative Chiefs extension offer or a massive free agency accord. The four-time Pro Bowler wants to stay in Kansas City, but it certainly does not sound like any hometown discount will be considered.

“Yeah, absolutely, I want to stay here, but the business is the business,” Brown said, via Pro Football Talk’s Charean Williams. “Things happen. Whatever happens, man, I’ll be prepared to go.”

This stance is unsurprising, given how the franchise-tagged tackle played his 2022 negotiations. Despite acquiring Brown via trade in 2021, the Chiefs tabled extension talks until last year. Brown changed agents, hiring a representative without a football background, and said Kansas City’s offer was too light on guarantees for him to sign. The Chiefs offered Brown a six-year, $139MM deal that contained the second-most guarantees among tackles, and although a bloated final-year salary existed to increase the AAV to top Trent Williams‘ $23MM mark, Brown passed. This rankled some in the organization. Pro Football Focus viewed the mammoth left tackle as making slight improvements in 2022, slotting him as a top-20 player at the position. Barring a major injury in Super Bowl LVII, Brown will be in strong negotiating position again soon.

Here is the latest from the AFC West:

  • Justin Herbert will be taking some time off ahead of the Chargers‘ offseason program. The star quarterback underwent surgery to address a shoulder labrum injury, according to the team. Herbert underwent the procedure on his nonthrowing shoulder, which became an issue late in the season. The Chargers expect their QB to be ready in time for their offseason program, which will be a bit more important for Herbert and Co. due to the team having changed offensive coordinators.
  • On the OC topic, the Chargers will entrust Herbert’s fourth season to Kellen Moore. The 33-year-old play-caller made a quick move from Dallas to L.A., being informed he was not returning for a fifth season as the Cowboys’ OC to landing the Bolts job within a day. Prior to the Chargers moving quickly on Moore, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com notes they were leaning toward hiring Rams quarterbacks coach Zac Robinson (Twitter link). Multiple coordinator-seeking teams believed Robinson, a former Brandon Staley coworker, would land the gig. Robinson has interviewed for the Ravens’ OC position, but as of now, the young assistant is set to return to the Rams.
  • Kyzir White departed the Chargers after a productive contract year, one that led the linebacker to the Eagles. Set to start in Super Bowl LVII, White is still auditioning for a long-term payday. The Eagles gave the converted safety a one-year, $3MM deal. Despite White tallying a career-high 144 tackles and starting 17 games for the 2021 Chargers, The Athletic’s Daniel Popper notes Staley’s system not placing a high value on off-ball ‘backers led the Bolts to let him walk (subscription required). This could be relevant intel for the Bolts’ Kenneth Murray plan. The team chose Murray in the first round before Staley’s arrival; his fifth-year option will cost $12.72MM.
  • The Bolts should be expected to consider re-signing right tackle Trey Pipkins, per Popper. Winning the right-side job in training camp after making offseason improvements, Pipkins suffered an MCL sprain and aggravated the injury twice upon returning. The free agent-to-be still started 14 games. Pro Football Focus ranked Pipkins 67th among tackles, though Popper notes the Chargers will likely hold the former third-round pick in higher regard compared to the rest of the league. It will be interesting to see what Pipkins’ market produces, as starter-caliber tackles generally do well in free agency.
  • Adam Butler secured a pretty nice reserve/futures deal with the Raiders. The veteran defensive tackle’s one-year pact includes $485.8K guaranteed, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets, adding the contract can spike to $2MM. A former Patriots regular, Butler did not play in 2022 after being cut by the Dolphins during training camp.

Dolphins Release DT Adam Butler

August 2nd, 2022 at 3:34pm CST by Sam Robinson

Signed in the wake of the Patriots poaching Davon Godchaux, Adam Butler is no longer with the Dolphins. The former Patriot received his walking papers Tuesday.

A failed physical designation came with the release. The Dolphins signed Butler to a two-year, $7.5MM deal in 2021. With no money being guaranteed in Year 2, the team will save $4.15MM with this transaction.

Butler logged a career-high 53% snap rate last season. Despite being used mostly as a rotational player, Butler’s 591 snaps marked a 100-plus-play increase on his single-season Patriots usage. Although Butler played in all 17 games, his production dipped in Miami.

Butler, 28, tallied two sacks and a career-low 17 tackles. His two tackles for loss also matched a career-low figure. Pro Football Focus rated Butler outside the top 70 among interior D-linemen. The Dolphins did not use any draft choices on their defensive line but did sign veteran John Jenkins this offseason.

A former UDFA, Butler recorded 10 sacks in his final two New England seasons. Prior to that, he worked as a regular up front for two Super Bowl-bound New England teams. He registered sacks against the Titans and Jaguars as a rookie during the Pats’ AFC playoff run. Butler worked under Brian Flores during his Patriots tenure. Although the Dolphins did not change defensive coordinators upon firing Flores, with Josh Boyer staying in place, one of Flores’ two-city charges is out of the picture.

NFL COVID-19 List Updates: 1/1/22

January 1st, 2022 at 4:46pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are the New Year’s Day activations from and placements on the reserve/COVID-19 lists:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

  • Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: G Oli Udoh

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

  • Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: CB Bryce Hall

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Dolphins To Sign Adam Butler

March 17th, 2021 at 11:30am CST by Zachary Links

Adam Butler will reunite with Brian Flores. The former Patriots defensive tackle has agreed to a two-year deal with the Dolphins (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). The contract could be worth up to $9.5MM with bonuses. Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets that the contract has a listed value of $7.5MM, including $3.75MM in guaranteed.

Last year, the Patriots kept Butler from the open market (and, likely, the waiting arms of Flores) with a second-round tender. This time around, the Patriots allowed Butler to walk amidst their own free agency spending spree.

The former Vanderbilt standout has spent his entire four-year career with New England, and he won a Super Bowl championship during his second year in the NFL. He’s missed just one a regular season game as a pro and he’s made an impact, despite making just six combined starts across the last two seasons. In 2019, he set a new career high with six sacks. Last year, he registered four sacks with a new watermark of 34 total stops.

Butler will be joined in the Miami front seven by fellow newcomer Benardrick McKinney. The Dolphins acquired the inside linebacker earlier this week by shipping OLB Shaq Lawson to the Texans.

Patriots Place Second-Round Tender On DT Adam Butler

March 16th, 2020 at 9:36pm CST by Ben Levine

The Patriots are making (somewhat) of a commitment to defensive tackle Adam Butler. ESPN’s Mike Reiss reports (via Twitter) that the team has placed a second-round tender on the 25-year-old.

The move ensures that if any team signs Butler to an offer sheet and the Patriots decline to match, they’d get that team’s second-round pick in return.

The former Vanderbilt standout has spent his entire three-year career with New England, and he won a Super Bowl championship during his second year in the NFL. Butler hasn’t missed a regular season game since entering the league, and he set career-highs in tackles (26) and sacks (six) last season.

AFC East Rumors: Jets, Bell, Butler, Norman

March 15th, 2020 at 10:47am CST by Rory Parks

The Jets are widely expected to be active in free agency, and now that a new CBA has been approved, they can increase their ability to spend by designating Trumaine Johnson as a post-June 1 cut. Rich Cimini of ESPN.com takes a look at the players that Gang Green is expected to target, and unsurprisingly, some of this year’s most prolific O-lineman, edge rushers, and cornerbacks are on the list.

But what are the Jets’ fallback plans if they can’t land their top targets? Connor Hughes of The Athletic has heard that the team could pursue Eagles OT Halapoulivaati Vaitai, and if the Jets miss out on guards like Graham Glasgow and Joe Thuney, Hughes says they have looked into Panthers guard Greg Van Roten.

Now for more from the AFC East:

  • The Jets would like to retain WR Robby Anderson, but if his price tag gets too high, both Hughes and Cimini believe Breshad Perriman would be a target. Perriman offers field-stretching ability and had a strong finish to the 2019 season with the Bucs.
  • Jets RB Le’Veon Bell receives a $2MM roster bonus today. As Cimini points out, that bonus makes it a little less likely that Bell is traded, though that never seemed like a realistic proposition to begin with.
  • Mike Reiss of ESPN.com believes the Patriots are prepared to move on from WR Phillip Dorsett, though it’s a different story for Adam Butler. The fourth-year DT recently switched agents, and Reiss says extension talks could be on tap. Butler, a former UDFA, recorded six sacks last season.
  • The details are in on Josh Norman‘s new contract with the Bills, courtesy of Dan Graziano of ESPN.com (via Twitter), The deal was originally reported as a one-year, $6MM pact that could increase to $8MM with incentives, but Norman has a number of workout and roster milestones to hit before he collects the full $6MM. His salary is just $2.8MM, $1.5MM of which is guaranteed.

Patriots Add 19 UDFAs

May 5th, 2017 at 5:22pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Along with the previously reported signings of BYU linebacker Harvey Langi and Central Florida defensive back D.J. Killings, the Patriots announced 17 other undrafted free agent pickups Friday. Here they are: