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When the Arizona Cardinals signed cornerback Malcolm Butler this past offseason, there was an expectation that the Super Bowl hero would see a lot of action.
Butler, 31, was set to replace franchise legend Patrick Peterson in the secondary after the latter departed for the Minnesota Vikings during free agency.
With Arizona’s Week 1 outing against the Tennessee Titans on the horizon, the team’s cornerback situation is more up in the air.
NFL Media’s Mike Garafolo reported on Monday that Malcolm Butler is contemplating retirement due to a “personal situation.”
Insider Josina Anderson went on to conclude that the Cardinals learned a couple days ago about Butler considering retirement. “We don’t have a clue why,” one source told Anderson.
The Malcolm Butler situation and the Arizona Cardinals
Ever since Peterson opted to leave Arizona, the Cardinals have been sifting through veteran options around the NFL. That included bringing in both Butler and Darqueze Dennard. Unfortunately, Dennard is currently on injured reserve while fellow veteran Robert Alford finds himself on the NFL reserve/COVID-19 list.
It would be a less- than-ideal scenario for Arizona to have to rely on rookies Marco Wilson and Tay Gowan during the 2021 season. For his part, Gowan pretty much confirmed Monday that he had made the 53-man roster. Said announcement came a bit prior to the Malcolm Butler news making waves.
Last season for the Titans, Butler recorded 100 tackles, 14 passes defended and four interceptions in 16 games (all starts). If he decides to retire, it will put the Cardinals behind the proverbial eight-ball.
After all, they open up the regular season going up against some darn good wide receivers.
- Week 1: Tennessee Titans (A.J. Brown, Julio Jones)
- Week 2: Minnesota Vikings (Adam Thielen, Justin Jefferson)
- Week 3: Jacksonville Jaguars (D.J. Chark, Laviska Shenault Jr.)
- Week 4: Los Angeles Rams (Robert Woods, Cooper Kupp, DeSean Jackson)
- Week 5: San Francisco 49ers (Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk)