Saints likely to pass on Malcolm Butler and bolster secondary through NFL draft

New England Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler recently signed his contract tender, and the Patriots can officially trade him to any team. However, the New Orleans Saints aren’t likely to be Butler’s new NFL home.

Over the past few months, there were reports going around that the Saints were interested in the one-time Pro Bowler. In fact, New Orleans hosted Butler for a visit in the early stages of free agency. Despite that interest, the cost to get Butler is too high. The Saints are planning on keeping the No. 11 and No. 32 picks, as well as their second-round pick, according to The MMQB’s Peter King.

King also reported that New Orleans believes it can draft immediate contributors between picks 25 and 75. Since defensive backs are the strength of this draft class, the Saints do not need to mortgage high picks for Butler when they could upgrade through the draft. In fact, our own Dan Kadar’s latest mock draft has the Saints using their No. 32 pick on LSU cornerback Tre’Davious White.

Butler’s price tag could be too steep for New Orleans, too. Trading for Butler wouldn’t be a bad idea for a Saints pass defense that ranked last in the NFL in 2016, but one cornerback cannot completely fix that secondary.

Now, according to NFL Insider Ian Rapoport, Butler will likely stay in Foxborough for another season. Even if the Saints do not try to negotiate a trade with New England for Butler, other teams will likely call the Patriots to inquire about him.