New England Patriots 2021 defensive line playbook: Who stays, who goes
New England Patriots: Who stays, who goes – Adam Butler, Defensive Tackle.
New England Patriots defensive tackle Adam Butler had a combined total of 30 or so tackles and 3 sacks in 2020.
Not exactly off-the-charts production. Like Lawrence Guy, he’s a decent player but he’s not going to make you think about Aaron Donald at all. Butler is an unrestricted free agent like Guy. He’s in a somewhat similar situation to Guy but he’s not as accomplished a player.
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A defensive tackle in a defensive line that didn’t really impress at all, there’s not much to lose by cutting ties with Butler in the offseason. Adam Butler seemed to be a rising star at times during his first season in New England but he never really made the step to the next level.
Butler could still be a backup if he were to sign a contract for short money with New England in the offseason. But he’s not much more than that, a backup.
The problem with New England’s defensive line is that there are too many players who are at the level of backups and really none who are not only not great performers, but really not even really good players either.
Adam Butler is a decent player but nothing special. If he’s cheap to re-sign, fine, as a backup, maybe. But players at the level of Butler are not going to take the Patriots from near the bottom of the AFC East to the top. Not hardly.
In all, Butler is a serviceable NFL player but you’re not going to excel with him on your defensive line as a major contributor.
Adam Butler goes.