The Buffalo Bills tapped into their Carolina Panthers connection one more time with the agreed upon deal with free agent defensive tackle Vernon Butler. This is our grade for the Bills adding Vernon Butler.
The Buffalo Bills clearly had a focus of bolstering their defensive line in the early portions of free agency. The team agreed to deals with Butler’s former and once again current teammate Mario Addison, which received a high grade earlier this week, as well as former Seattle Seahawk Quinton Jefferson.
The addition of Vernon Butler is an interesting one as he was a player that entered the league with high expectations. The Panthers selected him in the first round, 30th overall, in the 2015 NFL Draft. At the time, the defensive tackle position was one of the Panthers’ strongest with Kawann Short and Star Lotulelei as their starters.
Butler was expected to provide depth and eventually take over the job if the team couldn’t reach an extension with Short or Lotulelei.
As a rookie, he showed flashes of potential and finished with 1.5 sacks and four QB hits in 10 games. However, he quickly fell out of the rotation and the Panthers elected not to pick up his fifth year option.
This past season though, Butler became the force that many envisioned and he ended up starting nine games for the Panthers. He finished the year with 32 total tackles, six sacks, and eight QB hits which were all career highs.
The question becomes how does he fit with the Bills and was this a good signing? When evaluating the Buffalo Bills’ signings we look at three key areas: Team Need, Team Fit, Contract and compile those grades for a final grade. This is how we grade the Bills addition of Vernon Butler.