Opening day countdowns are great. So are player profiles. Here at Musket Fire, we decided to combine them and create a Week 1 countdown-oriented, jersey number-dictated player profile series. Yesterday we looked at No. 22 Robert McClain, and the day before that it was No. 23 Patrick Chung. Because today marks 22 days until the New England Patriots open 2015, we are profiling No. 21, cornerback Malcolm Butler.
After going undrafted out of West Alabama last spring, Butler simply didn’t allow the Patriots to cut him. Although he was among a crowded cornerback group of Darrelle Revis, Brandon Browner and a bunch of Patriots returners last summer, Butler appeared in 11 regular season games.