While the NFL drama this offseason has simmered after Free Agency began, a former Arizona Cardinals cornerback is in the news but for the wrong reason.
According to TMZ Sports, information has come out that Malcolm Butler was arrested in Rhode Island on March 16 after driving under the influence, reportedly with alcohol.
“Cops say they initially pulled his white Mercedes-Benz over at around 3:22 a.m. after he was allegedly blocking traffic while stopped in a travel lane,” TMZ Sports said. “Cops say a strong odor of alcohol emitted from his breath. They also say his speech was ‘extremely slurred’ and he had ‘severely bloodshot watery eyes.’ Cops wrote in the docs [documents] he was ‘sweating profusely in the face’ as well.”
“Officers say after Butler refused to perform field sobriety tests, they arrested him and booked him on a charge of DUI.”
He will have a court hearing on the DUI charges this week.
Rollercoaster of a Career
The Mississippi native was signed by the New England Patriots in 2014 after going undrafted out of college at the University of West Alabama.
Butler played 59 games (48 starts) for the Patriots through four seasons (2014-17). During his time in New England, he accumulated eight interceptions, forced four fumbles, 2.0 sacks and 205 tackles. Butler is a two-time Super Bowl champion, XLIX (2014) and LI (2016).
Then March 15, 2018, Butler signed a five-year, $61 million contract with the Tennesse Titans. He grabbed nine interceptions, a sack, 201 tackles, scored two touchdowns and forced four fumbles in 41 games (36 starts).
Since then, he has not played a game in the NFL since being released by the Titans in 2020.
He signed with the Cardinals on March 30, 2021 before announcing his retirement on August 31, citing “personal reasons.” As a result, Arizona placed him on the team’s reserve/retired list before officially releasing him on Feb. 18, 2022.
In an unexpected move, however, Butler came back just a month after his release from the Cardinals.
He ended up signing a two-year contract with the Patriots on March 24. The 34-year-old would eventually be placed on injured reserve before being released by New England again on August 25, 2022.
Both the Miami Dolphins and Atlanta Falcons hosted workouts for Butler, but no contract was signed with either team. For the second time, he retired earlier this month on March 9, 2024.
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