Photo by: 2019 Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images
Adam Butler has logged 13 sacks, including playoffs, since arriving in New England.
Thirteen.
It stands as Adam Butler’s sack tally since signing with the New England Patriots as an undrafted free agent out of Vanderbilt in 2017.
Those sacks span from September meetings in the AFC East to January meetings in the AFC divisional and title round. They’ve netted 92 lost yards as well as a forced fumble that became a touchdown.
Butler has accrued them against a dozen quarterbacks.
And as the ex-Commodores offensive and defensive lineman approaches a $3.26 million year, here’s a glance back at his list of names to date.
QUARTERBACKS SACKED BY BUTLER
- Matt Ryan: 1 – Oct. 22, 2017
- Jay Cutler: 1 – Dec. 11, 2017
- Marcus Mariota: 1 – Jan. 13, 2018
- Blake Bortles: 1 – Jan. 21, 2018
- Ryan Tannehill: 1 – Sept. 30, 2018
- Kirk Cousins: 1 – Dec. 2, 2018
- Sam Darnold: 1 – Dec. 30, 2018
- Ryan Fitzpatrick: 2 – Sept. 15, 2019
- Luke Falk: 0.5 – Sept. 22, 2019
- Baker Mayfield: 2 – Oct. 27, 2019
- Carson Wentz: 1 – Nov. 17, 2019
- Josh Allen: 0.5 – Dec. 21, 2019
Nine of those sacked by Butler entered the league as lottery picks. A matchup with the Atlanta Falcons and former NFL MVP Matt Ryan brought Butler’s initial takedown beyond the preseason. Butler then crossed paths with a fellow Vanderbilt product in Jay Cutler during his rookie winter.
Marcus Mariota and Blake Bortles, behind center for the Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars at the time, followed as the page flipped to the playoffs.
And this past regular season, Butler’s matchups with Ryan Fitzpatrick’s Miami Dolphins and Baker Mayfield’s Cleveland Browns brought a pair of sacks apiece.
The sum of those plays has the 6-foot-5, 300-pound Butler in a small crowd.
No other player who went undrafted in his rookie class has reached double-digit sacks, according to Pro Football Reference. Just 10 players who were drafted the same spring have thus far, including teammate Deatrich Wise Jr., the defensive end by way of Arkansas.
Butler finished third on the Patriots in sacks by the close of last campaign. His career-high six in that department trailed only linebackers Jamie Collins and Kyle Van Noy.
“He’s another very smart player that really understands how to attack protections and do the right thing based on how the line’s blocking him on passing plays and what we have called,” Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said of Butler on a conference call in the fall. “He has good length over the ball and good length to play defensive end in the running game, but he plays very hard, hustles, gets the plays on second effort, extra effort. He’s a very smart, instinctive player.”
Butler has not missed a game during his tenure as a scheme-flexible part. That part gave way to 26 tackles, a handful of batted passes and a Pro Football Focus run-stop percentage that qualified for tops among NFL interior defenders this past season.
He turned 26 in April having received the second-round tender from New England as a restricted free agent.
The list could soon have new names written.
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