It’s been six years since Malcolm Butler’s championship-clinching interception in Super Bowl XLIX, a play that both saved the Patriots’ season while ending any hope of the “Legion of Boom” Seahawks establishing a dynasty.
While Butler’s last-second pick of Russell Wilson will forever be his NFL legacy, the undrafted 31-year-old has enjoyed a highly successful career, earning a Pro Bowl invite in 2015 (curiously, he earned All-Pro status the following season despite not making that year’s Pro Bowl) before signing a five-year, $61-million contract with the Titans (coached by another Patriots alum, Mike Vrabel) in 2018.
There have been bumps in the road. Butler was benched under mysterious circumstances in Super Bowl LII (the Patriots sure could have used him against Eagles studs Alshon Jeffery and Nelson Agholor) and was cut by Tennessee as a cap casualty earlier this month. But even if he’s lost a step or two (not that he was ever a burner), the ball-hawking Butler (17 career interceptions) remains a more-than-capable NFL starter, which is presumably the role he’ll occupy this upcoming season as a member of the Arizona Cardinals.
Butler, whose one-year contract is worth a reported $6 million, will have big shoes to fill in Arizona, effectively replacing franchise icon Patrick Peterson—an eight-time Pro Bowler and likely Hall-of-Famer—opposite Robert Alford in the Cardinals’ secondary. Peterson’s decade-long stint in the desert ended when he joined the Vikings last week.
It’s been an eventful offseason for the Cardinals who, in addition to landing Butler, have also welcomed newcomers J.J. Watt, a three-time Defensive Player of the Year with Houston, and veteran receiver A.J. Green, formerly of the Bengals. Haason Reddick, who paced Arizona with 12.5 sacks this past season, defected to Carolina (reuniting him with his former college coach, Matt Rhule) after the Cardinals declined to franchise tag him.
Heading into their third year under coach Kliff Kingsbury, the Cardinals are looking to improve on last year’s 8-8 finish, though that could prove challenging in one of the league’s toughest divisions. Butler, for his part, led the Titans with four interceptions in 2020 and was also the team’s second-leading tackler (an even 100) behind safety Kevin Byard (111). The Cardinals play their home games at State Farm Stadium in Glendale (a Phoenix suburb), which is where Butler’s heroic interception occurred in 2015.
LISTEN NOW on the RADIO.COM App
Follow RADIO.COM Sports
Twitter | Facebook I Instagram