Dallas Cowboys: Should the Cowboys pursue Malcolm Butler?

The Dallas Cowboys may look into acquiring cornerback and Super Bowl hero Malcolm Butler in free agency. The Patriots best corner will likely be released.

The Dallas Cowboys will be looking to build on their talented roster in the offseason and that means adding some key free agents. The New England Patriots will have their best cornerback and Super Bowl star, Malcolm Butler hit free agency after several years with the franchise. Should the Cowboys pursue Butler to help bolster the secondary?

The Patriots have lost the Super Bowl much to the chagrin of most Dallas Cowboy fans, but they will also lose a bit more than that during free agency. New England will have multiple starters contracts expiring and they will have to be smart about who they extend.

Players like Rex Burkhead, Nate Solder, Danny Amendola, Dion Lewis, and James Harrison could be available for the other 31 teams in the NFL come March. But the biggest and possibly most well-known name on this list is cornerback Malcolm Butler.

Butler now infamously was benched during Super Bowl LII and little explanation has been giving by the Patriots coaching staff. Some have said it is an attitude issue, others have said because he did not look prepared to face the Philadelphia Eagles.

But Butler himself has since gone on record to say that none of these rumors were true and that he spent most of the week with his family. One thing is obvious, something is a little fishy about this whole situation.

Butler is a hero for the Patriots as he famously picked off Russell Wilson at the goal line to help New England steal a title from the Seattle Seahawks. Needless to say, the Patriots could have used him on Sunday. It could have been that Butler wanted a bigger contract (and rightfully so) however the Patriots did not think it was worth their time.

Tom Brady himself has co-signed Butler as not only being a great teammate but a hard worker, so what gives? Both Butler and the Patriots are clearly heading in different directions and since the cornerback has already thanked Patriots fans for supporting him throughout his time in New England, the writing appears to be on the wall.

So now that Butler is destined to be a free agent, should the Cowboys pursue him? That will be tough to say until we know his market value, but a cornerback who won his team a Super Bowl probably won’t come cheap.

The 2018 draft class is also full of young cornerbacks who can make a difference in their first season. How aggressive the Dallas Cowboys are in free agency also is impacted by what contracts they get done.

If Zack Martin, Demarcus Lawrence, and David Irving all have their deals done the Cowboys cap figure should improve. This also assumes that players who have large contracts (*cough Dez Bryant *cough) will allow the team to restructure those deals to help create cap space.

If all of that occurs, a top cornerback addition in free agency may make sense. Butler has averaged around 1.5 interceptions per season and his best season was easily in 2016 when he recorded four takeaways.

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A player like that could be priced out of the Cowboys price range and if a defensive back were to be added this offseason (who is not drafted) it would likely be Earl Thomas.

Dallas has a bigger need at the safety position so realistically it is tough to see acquiring Butler unless he is added on a one year deal or a team friendly deal in general. With several teams in the NFL having a desperate need at the cornerback position, Butler should get scooped up fairly quickly.

Next: Dallas Cowboys: Four free agent running back options for 2018

This means that there could be a talented cornerback left on the Dallas Cowboys draft board when it is their turn to make their selection in the draft.

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