Even before New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick made the surprising decision to sit Malcolm Butler in Super Bowl LII, it was reported that the cornerback would likely leave the franchise in free agency this offseason. After getting benched on Sunday, it's all but assured that Butler won't return to New England, and Texans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins is hoping he'll land in Houston.
He made a brief pitch to Butler on Twitter Monday afternoon:
Wusup @Mac_BZ we got a place for you in Houston
— Deandre Hopkins (@DeAndreHopkins) February 5, 2018
Prior to the Super Bowl, Butler started in 15 of New England's 16 regular season games as well as their playoff wins over the Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars. He played more snaps than any defensive player for the Patriots in 2017, making his benching for the biggest game of the year that much more confusing. Belichick briefly commented on the decision on Monday, but he still didn't provide a definitive reason for it.
As an unrestricted free agent, Butler can choose to sign wherever he wishes, and the Texans certainly make sense as a possible landing spot. Houston finished 24th against the pass in 2017, and they gave up an abysmal 27.2 points per game, the most in the NFL. While they have decent depth at the position with Johnathan Joseph, Kareem Jackson, and Kevin Johnson, the Texans could certainly use a corner with Butler's size who's able to defend quicker receivers in the slot as well as bigger targets on the outside.
Butler will likely receive a sizable contract extending over a few years, and there won't be a shortage of interested teams looking to improve their depth in the secondary by adding the Super Bowl XLIX hero to the mix. We'll see if Houston's one of them.
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