The Buffalo Bills announced today that Brad Butler has decided to retire from the NFL. There was a press release that revealed a little insight in to his decision, but I have to suspect that most Bills fans and the players did not see this one coming.
Aaron Schobel was a much more likely retirement announcement, but Brad Butler? He was only in the league for four years.
True, Butler was injured for almost the entire season, as he went down in week two with a season-ending injury. Perhaps his rehab was not going as well as he planned, or he saw the way that the Bills formally dumped seven players from the roster this week, and felt he no longer wanted to be in the business of pro football.
Whatever the main motivation was, the end result is that Butler's decision now leaves gaping holes at both tackle slots on the Bills offensive line. This also means that the Bills will have to use their first draft pick on a tackle, and it would also suggest that another draft pick for the other tackle will probably be invested in the first four rounds as well.
Maybe we will wind up with Iowa bookends at tackle—Bulaga and Calloway. That would be something if it wound up that way.
Butler's announcement means that the entire starting offensive line from the 2008 season, just two scant years ago, are all officially gone from the Bills.
That unit had Derrick Dockery, Jason Peters, Brad Butler, Duke Preston, Langston Walker, and Melvin Fowler. When the Bills were talking about a clean sweep, you can say that the offensive line has been swept away as well now.
There will be competition in training camp for both tackle spots. If high draft picks are invested in some tackles, they will have to come in and prove that they deserve to be starters, just like Eric Wood and Andy Levitre did last year.
There are still people like Jonathan Scott, Demetrius Bell, and Jamon Meredith around who will want to compete for the open positions as well.
But this new development, along with the decision to switch to the 3-4 defense, means that the thought of drafting either Jimmy Clausen or Sam Bradford has all but vanished.
Here is the quote from Butler's press release:
"I would like to thank Mr. Wilson, my teammates, and the entire Bills Nation for giving me the opportunity to represent the Buffalo Bills for the past four years. Playing in the National Football League has been a tremendous opportunity, and a great blessing.
However, my passion for education, country, and community is something that I am ready to devote my full attention to. I believe the best way to pursue these spheres of interest is to step away from the game of football at this point in my life.
I will always remember my time spent in Western New York with great affection. I wish my teammates and Bills fans the best of luck next season and into the future."
