FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — The New England Patriots signed cornerback Malcolm Butler to a free agent tender on Tuesday that makes the hero of their fourth Super Bowl victory eligible to be traded.
Butler visited the New Orleans Saints last month, but they declined to sign him to an offer sheet that could have required them to compensate New England with their first-round draft pick, No. 11 overall. Instead, the Saints are believed to covet Butler in exchange for the No. 32 overall pick they received in the trade that sent Brandin Cooks to New England.
Butler could not be traded until he signed the tender, which would pay him $3.