The New Orleans Saints signed linebacker Victor Butler a season ago with the hope he could become a significant contributor to their defense.
Ultimately, he may never play a down for the team.
According to Kristian Garic of 870 WWL in New Orleans, the Saints are planning to release Butler as a part of their cuts to get down to 75 players by 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
Butler suffered a torn ACL after colliding with running back Mark Ingram in practice in June 2013. He was placed on the physically unable to perform list with the hope his knee may somehow be able to recover in time for him to play down the stretch. That hope never materialized and Butler spent the entire season on the physically unable to perform list.
According to Larry Holder of the New Orleans Times-Picayune, Butler returned to practice Monday after missing a significant amount of training camp with another issue, though this one was undisclosed by the Saints. The move to release Butler will save the Saints $1.5 million this season.
Butler’s last game action came with the Dallas Cowboys in 2012, where he appeared in all 16 games and recorded 25 tackles, three sacks and two forced fumbles.