Titans to sign Malcolm Butler to five-year, $61M deal

Malcolm Butler won't be following former New England coordinator Matt Patricia to Detroit, but he is staying in the Patriots' extended family.

The Titans are set to sign Butler to a five-year deal worth more than $61 million with over $30 million in guarantees, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported, via a source informed of the situation.

Butler will join new head coach Mike Vrabel, general manager Jon Robinson and cornerback Logan Ryan, all of whom spent time in New England. Butler played alongside Ryan and signed under Robinson, formerly Bill Belichick's director of college scouting.

In the wake of an inexplicable Super Bowl LII disappearance, speculation mounted that Butler might have to settle for a one-year, prove-it deal on the open market. Instead, he's poised to cash in as one of the highest-paid defensive stars signed in free agency.

It's worth noting that his new contract numbers will mirror those that the Saints were willing to shell out, per Rapoport, had they reached a trade agreement with the Patriots last summer.

The script for Butler's four-year NFL career reads like the opening of an episode of "A Football Life."

Signed as an afterthought undrafted free agent, Butler stole the Super Bowl XLIX spotlight after saving the victory with an end-zone interception as a last-second substitution. Building on that success, he earned a Pro Bowl nod in his second season, won a second title in his third season and led the 2017 Patriots defense in snaps before the Super Bowl controversy closed out his fourth year.

Butler fills a prime need in Nashville, aligning opposite promising second-year corner Adoree' Jackson and allowing Ryan to return to the slot.

Now that he has reunited with Butler, Robinson can scratch cornerback off his shopping list heading into draft season.