It has been more than a week since a report that the Saints and cornerback Malcolm Butler had the framework for a contract “mostly in place,” but things haven’t progressed beyond to an actual offer sheet.
During a discussion of the team’s offseason on Tuesday, Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis didn’t say if that was because there had been a snag in negotiations or if it was because the need to give up the 11th pick in the draft as compensation to the Patriots in addition to a contract to Butler was too much for the Saints to bear.
“There’s not a lot I can say. We’re kicking the tires I guess,” Loomis said, via the New Orleans Times-Picayune. “That’s the way to describe that. We’ll see how that process works.”
A third option would be to work out a trade with New England, but that would require Butler to sign his restricted free agent tender and there’s no sign that’s imminent with an April 21 deadline for other teams to sign him away. Loomis termed the need to add help at cornerback as a must for the Saints, so they’ll likely keep kicking the tires on Butler while also looking at the draft as a possible avenue to improve a pass defense that’s been lagging for some time.
