Malcolm Butler's second stint in New England is officially over before he even played in a regular season game.

The Patriots released the veteran cornerback on Thursday. Butler was placed on injured reserve on Aug. 16 and while the team didn't say what his injury was, Butler reportedly had a hip injury. With Butler on injured reserve, the Patriots had to reach an injury settlement with him in order to make Thursday's move.

Butler, 32, rejoined the Patriots in March, signing a two-year deal reportedly worth $5 million as New England looked to replace the recently departed J.C. Jackson. The signing came after Butler missed the 2021 season, where he retired after spending training camp with the Arizona Cardinals.

After a year away from the game, Butler had an up-and-down performance in his three weeks of practices. He was mostly getting snaps with the backups. When he got snaps with the top unit, some of them didn't end well as DeVante Parker got the best of Butler multiple times in camp.

Butler's roster status, had he remained healthy, remained unclear. He played in the Week 1 preseason loss to the Giants, a game where most of the starters sat, indicating that Butler was likely on the bubble at that point. He had a fumble recovery in that game.

Butler first joined the Patriots in 2014 as an undrafted free agent. After limited action for much of the season, Butler made one of the biggest plays in franchise history when he intercepted Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson's pass at the goal line to ensure a Patriots win in Super Bowl XLIX.

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Butler emerged when he became a starter in 2015, earning a Pro Bowl nod that season before getting an All-Pro recognition in 2016, another Super Bowl season in New England. His first stint in New England came to an end following the 2017 season, when the Patriots benched him in their 41-33 loss to the Eagles in Super Bowl LII.

Following the 2017 season, Butler became an unrestricted free agent and signed with the Tennessee Titans on a five-year deal. He recorded nine interceptions over three seasons. That wasn't good enough for the Titans though. They released Butler at the start of the 2021 offseason.

Patriots corner Joejuan Williams was placed on injured reserve the same day as Butler. Second-year linebacker Ronnie Perkins is the other Patriots player currently on IR. Any player placed on IR prior to the 53-man roster cutdown day (Aug. 30) is ruled out for the rest of the season.