Malcolm Butler, who the Titans signed in the offseason, has embraced his move to Nashville, and, in a larger sense, a change of scenery.
Butler has embraced his move to Nashville, and, in a larger sense, a change of scenery. It helps with turning the page, though Butler will tell you he did that months ago.
On the first day of training camp, Butler, who the Titans signed to a five-year, $61.25 million contract with $30 million guaranteed in March, used perfect timing to pick off Marcus Mariota on a pass intended for Corey Davis in 1-on-1 drills. He proceeded to punt the ball in celebration.
"I didn’t mean no disrespect or anything like that," Butler said. "That’s just who I am. I’m just a guy who plays with a lot of intensity."
"Malcolm’s got a lot to prove," Titans secondary coach Kerry Coombs said. "Malcolm’s a competitive guy. He competes at everything he does. He wants to win at everything he does, he wants to win at every rep and he wants to let you know when he beats you. And I love that about Malcolm."
Butler forced at least one turnover in each of the first four practices of training camp. On Saturday, he provided one of the few highlights from the Titans practice at Nissan Stadium, flashing good closing speed to get his hand on a pass intended for Taywan Taylor and break it up.
"I’ve seen everything that I thought he was going to be and that’s being a fiery competitor, scraping and working hard every single day," safety Kevin Byard said. "I feel like he’s been the most impressive defensive player so far in camp. He’s been out here fighting and clawing, earning that contract."