Does anyone want the Patriots to trade Malcolm Butler?
Debate the answer with Chad Finn and Boston sports fans at The Sports Q.
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Malcolm Butler for Brandin Cooks? Is this really going to happen? I hate this. – Kevin P.
I hate this too, and I spent most of Thursday after free agency officially kicked off at 4 p.m. refreshing Twitter waiting for ESPN’s Adam Schefter or NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport to tell us that the rumor had become real. Ugh. Did I mention I hate this?
Maybe that it hasn’t happened yet, despite the constant rumor-mill percolation that it could at any moment, is a sign that perhaps the Patriots will keep Butler, a player who rocketed from obscurity when he saved Super Bowl XLIX and handled it with humility and grace while turning into one heck of a player.
I hope it’s a sign. He’s one of the easiest players to root for that they have ever had, and who wants to start rooting for him from afar, just three seasons into his career? He belongs here.
Unfortunately, I don’t think it’s a sign. The Patriots just gave ex-Bill Stephon Gilmore $40 million guaranteed. Butler, a restricted free agent who reportedly covets the kind of security that top-notch unrestricted free agents receive, isn’t hitting the jackpot this offseason. It can’t be a good sign that the Patriots are spending huge money at his position … but not on him.
Hope I’m wrong. Cooks is a fine player. But Butler, already a part of Patriots’ history, should remain part of their present and future as well.
How about you? Is there anyone out there who wants to trade Butler?
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