New England Patriots: Sean Payton Impressed by Malcolm Butler

The New Orleans Saints are still very interested in New England Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler, who has caught the eye of head coach Sean Payton.

The New England Patriots have been one of the most active teams this offseason. With some big signings and a few trades, the Patriots are trying to put themselves in a great position to repeat as Super Bowl Champions.

With most big-name free agents signing with teams, most of the news now will be about possible trades and the NFL Draft. One of the players that have been rumored as a possible trade candidate is cornerback Malcolm Butler.

Since the interception against the Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl, Butler has emerged as one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL. Due to him being a restricted free agent this offseason, the Patriots basically control his future.

One of the teams that as been very interested in Butler is the New Orleans Saints. Prior to trading Brandin Cooks for a package including the Patriots’ first-round pick, they were interested in swapping Cooks for Butler. One of the biggest fans of Butler is Saints head coach Sean Payton.

"“Coming out of a small town in Mississippi and through junior college and into West Alabama, it’s pretty amazing,” Payton told XTRA 1360 radio in San Diego on Friday via Mike Triplett of ESPN.com. “And the first three years he’s had in this league, shoot, he’s had a tremendous amount of success, winning two Super Bowls in three years and being a big part of a team that’s accomplished a lot.“So I’d say he’s humble, but when you watch the tape, he plays with a chip on his shoulder.”"

The Saints and Patriots have done a few inter-squad practices over the past few seasons. This has resulted in the Saints getting to see plenty of Butler, and how far he has grown as a player.

"“We’ve practiced with New England now in that three-year time frame twice, so there’s a lot of additional practice tape that we have a chance to look closely at,” Payton said via Triplett. “And I’m sure Bill [Belichick] and his staff were the same way when evaluating [receiver Brandin] Cooks.”"

With Butler being a restricted free agent, the Saints are going to have to give the Patriots something valuable in order to acquire him. Due to the Patriots placing a first-round tender on Butler, the price to acquire him wouldn’t be cheap for the Saints.

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Over the past few seasons, the Saints have been one of the worst teams in the NFL on defense. Butler is certainly a lockdown cornerback, but the price might be too steep for New Orleans.