Brad Butler retires!

[madness]

Per V-text

Bills offensive lineman Brad Butler informed the organization that he is retiring from professional football.


Bills General Manager Buddy Nix said, “We respect Brad’s decision to pursue the next chapter in his life. He has tremendous character and a very bright future in whatever career path he now chooses and we wish him all the best.”


In a prepared statement given to the team for release to the media and fans, Butler said:
“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.”
http://www.wkbw.com/sports/84732157.html

[hydro]

:shocked:

[BILLSROCK1212]

oy vey, now that is crazy....I'm sure he has a bright future ahead of him, but now we have SERIOUS o-line issues

[Ebenezer]

wow....i didn't think the injury looked that bad when it happened.

[Bravo82]

LMAO :rofl:

[bigbub2352]

Well anyone that thinks we are not going Oline in this years draft better re-do there drafts
I want Bulaga from Iowa all day now unless Okung falls, mite even be going Oline first 2 rds
got sign Richie Incognito now as well LOng term

[more cowbell]

wow this team is just a sad joke more and more every day

[FlyingDutchman]

perfect, just perfect

[Dr. Lecter]

Balls

[DBrown77]

Great. all of our O-lineman have a year or less experience besides Incognito. Our best lineman IMO now gone.

[Griz78]

I think OL is surely our first pick. D Bell has a long recovery to supposedly.
Langston Walker is out there hahahaha, should have kept him at Right Tackle

[Mr. Miyagi]

LOL Brad Butler hasn't had enough of a career to retire from anything.

What's next? Dakota Fanning retires from acting?

[shelby]

:(

[SABURZFAN]

this should be a wakeup call to the FO that the OL needs to be addressed.

[Griz78]

Should have given in to Peters. Could really use him now.
Money they save with Butler, Owens, Maybe Schobel, you could have easily paid our best player.

[EDS]

This team almost has to sign a veteran of some type now. Can't go into 2010 with a completely inexperienced corps of tackles. Yikes.

[MikeInRoch]

At least he did it before the draft and free agency.

[more cowbell]

he'll be retired for a year and come back when hes a FA and play for a professional football team. not amateur like he has been since he was drafted.

[ddaryl]

I don't know what you guys are thinking, but i say OL is a must at #9

I think we have some great young talent on our OL that needs to be honed but we need that LT....

[MikeInRoch]

Should have given in to Peters. Could really use him now.
Money they save with Butler, Owens, Maybe Schobel, you could have easily paid our best player.

No, we shouldn't have.

[patmoran2006]

yes this is stunning.

I'm working on player reaction right now.. Crazy'ness man.,

[Ebenezer]

one thing I am surprised at is how much some posters think BB was an all pro...folks, he was a serviceable lineman at best. please don't make him out to be more than he was.

[patmoran2006]

one thing I am surprised at is how much some posters think BB was an all pro...folks, he was a serviceable lineman at best. please don't make him out to be more than he was.

its just more shocking than anything else.

[Ebenezer]

its just more shocking than anything else.

true...but let's not make him out to be an All-Pro.

[Dr. Lecter]

true...but let's not make him out to be an All-Pro.

That might be true.

But he is 10X better than the current alternative.

[THATHURMANATOR]

Any word as to why? Was it injury related?

[scartown]

Little surprising but I wish him the best of luck in his next career.

[Mitchell55]

Can Levitre play RT?

[Griz78]

No, we shouldn't have.

Peters is by far better than anyone on our line. He was average this year but better than all teh clowns we had at tackle this year!

[scartown]

Any word as to why? Was it injury related?

I know he wanted to get into politics. Most likely it's that.

[psubills62]

Wow...that's a little surprising.

[ZAZusmc03]

Thats a huge surprise. This year is going to be brutal.

[THATHURMANATOR]

I know he wanted to get into politics. Most likely it's that.
What a pussy then....

[PECKERWOOD]

He is putting his body before money, he has his priorities right. If the opportunities are there for Butler, go for it, man. He was one of our more versatile linemen on the roster, I'm shocked.

[Mitchell55]

I guess he was more interested in his career. I really dont blame him, you have to have full passion for his position

[Mitchell55]

So now even if we get Vick we need a RT

[Mahdi]

This doesn't change anything for me. OT is clearly a dire need but I don't want to reach on a pick because of it.

I want the best player we can get that fits any of our needs.

There are players out there we can get in FA that can replicate Butler's production such as Tony Pashos and we can also give the job to Jamon Meredith who after a year of experience should be a reliable RT.

BPA at #9, I don't want anymore busts so we can grab ourselves a roster player at the top of the draft.

[Mahdi]

one thing I am surprised at is how much some posters think BB was an all pro...folks, he was a serviceable lineman at best. please don't make him out to be more than he was.
He was our best OT, that's all. Nothing special or irreplaceable. No need to panic.

IMO Meredith is a more talented OT, some seasoning can go a long way to him being a solid RT or even LT.

[Michael82]

Son of a *****! I was counting on Butler to keep doing what he started. If healthy, he was going to be a very good RT for us. :sigh:

[patmoran2006]

Butler will undoubtedly be giving up money. He signed an extension in 2008 that saw him get $3.9 million in signing bonuses and was slated to have base salaries of $1.55 million for the next three years. (numbers per rotoworld)

[Mitchell55]

Butler will undoubtedly be giving up money. He signed an extension in 2008 that saw him get $3.9 million in signing bonuses and was slated to have base salaries of $1.55 million for the next three years. (numbers per rotoworld)



Yeah why did he extend, did he like get a opportunity all of a sudden

[madness]

WTF? Still no story over at BB.com

*added story from wkbw to first post.

[Dr. Lecter]

So now even if we get Vick we need a RT

And a QB....

[Michael82]

Wow! This sounds like he had other plans in mind. It's not just because of the injury. His heart doesn't sound like it's into more football...


“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.”

http://www.buffalobills.com/news/article-1/Brad-Butler-announces-retirement/0f080f29-221d-467a-9e69-7c1d9387d597

[THATHURMANATOR]

“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.”

http://www.buffalobills.com/news/art...9-7c1d9387d597

Excuse me while I :puke:

[patmoran2006]

he must hate money

[YardRat]

That's a real bummer, but if anybody was going to go at least it was him and not one of the guys that are even younger and have more potential. Let's face it, as Eb already stated Butler was by no means a pro bowler, and actually if we happen to snag a stud LT then Brad defaults to the weak link in the line and the next one necessary to be upgraded.

[patmoran2006]

That's a real bummer, but if anybody was going to go at least it was him and not one of the guys that are even younger and have more potential. Let's face it, as Eb already stated Butler was by no means a pro bowler, and actually if we happen to snag a stud LT then Brad defaults to the weak link in the line and the next one necessary to be upgraded.
He was not great by any means, but a fairly solid RT and considering the youth and inexperience, the least of our worries on the OL.

[patmoran2006]

I'll be doing a Free Agent File soon, start studying Minnesota Vikings OT Artis Hicks.

[elltrain22]

example number 1 million that its damn hard being a Bills fan!!:cgal: :cgal: :cgal:

[JCBills]

true...but let's not make him out to be an All-Pro.

Nobody is, but he was by far out best OL on the roster.

[Ed]

This is definitely surprising and just adds another hole, but Butler wasn't exactly a great RT and with the combination of his knee injury, I was hoping that we would look to upgrade both OT positions. So now at least we have no excuse not to.

[EDS]

Nobody is, but he was by far out best OL on the roster.

Which is saying something given how limited his playing time at tackle has been in the NFL.

[Griff]

LOL Brad Butler hasn't had enough of a career to retire from anything.

What's next? Dakota Fanning retires from acting?

terrible comparison Dakota has been acting for twice as long as Brad's been a pro player.

[alohabillsfan]

please trade down if possible...our holes have holes!

[Mitchell55]

I think what he did was get enough money that he was comfortable with and leave asap

[mrbojanglezs]

you can do politics the rest of your life.....he should have at least played till he was 30 dumb move IMO

[Mitchell55]

you can do politics the rest of your life.....he should have at least played till he was 30 dumb move IMO



Uh, yeah you can

[Buddo]

Butler has already spent a lot of time in rehab, for his shoulder problems. He's a bright guy by all accounts. It is pretty obvious that football isn't the 'be all, end all' to him, and I think you can see that having to spend another several months rehab to play again, probably seems to him, like he's wasting time that he could be putting to better use.
Good luck to him.

As others have mentioned, I think that the Bills needed to be possibly looking at 2 tackles anyway, from FA and the draft, simply because there were no guarantees how well Butler would return. In all honesty, I see little value in Chambers and Scott, so we could have been in the position of needing an extra tackle if Butler wasn't going to be fully fit in time.

[YardRat]

He was not great by any means, but a fairly solid RT and considering the youth and inexperience, the least of our worries on the OL.

Meh...I like Butler, and have had him penciled in at RT for next season, but let's be a little bit real...It's not like he really solidified that side of the line playing 2, 16, 13, and 2 games over his four year career. Plus he was injured 3 out of four ?

[Ickybaluky]

If Butler is there or not, the Bills have a big need for OT help. This is surprising, but doesn't seem like it will cause a drastic change in plans.

[Night Train]

I never liked him and posted the same many times.

Couldn't play Tackle worth a darn, then got moved inside where he failed miserably. He's a backup on his best day.

I wish him the best in his future endevors but trying to sell this as a major loss is a reach of epic proportions. .

[JCBills]

I never liked him and posted the same many times.

Couldn't play Tackle worth a darn, then got moved inside where he failed miserably. He's a backup on his best day.

I wish him the best in his future endevors but trying to sell this as a major loss is a reach of epic proportions. .

Lol? Butler played well for us, I don't get this one.

[djjimkelly]

big deal he was hurt all of last season and was only the starter for 1 year before that.

im sure he wasnt a corner stone in the future plans of the bills

he would have been nice for depth or 1 or 2 more year starter but hes definately not someone im losing sleep over

gl bud have fun working for a living

[methos4ever]

Butler, retiring at 26, seems like a smart kid. After 4 years he's vested into the pension program and has probably been putting as much as possible in the 401k. So money won't be an issue for him, especially with regard to politics.

[Yasgur's Farm]

Can Levitre play RT?Normally that would work fine... But with the uncertainty of Wood, Levitre needs to stay in the middle along with Hangartner and Incognito.

[ChristopherWalken]

"If the FO goes after that louse Vick, I retire..." Brad Butler

Source: Joe Logan

[Don't Panic]

We didn't even know if he could get it done at RT, so it was a question mark anyway. Bell can play RT, we draft a LT and sign a vet to backup along with what's left from last year. Not the biggest loss in the world, here.

[Jeff1220]

Yeah, it's now a bigger hole than it was before, but if the passion isn't there, and he has other ambitions, then he did the right thing.
Most people live on a lot less than an NFL player without the luxury of already having been able to bank several years of an NFL salary. I'm sure he'll be more than comfortable, financially, and his beaten-up body will cease to take the abuse of an NFL lineman.

[MikeInRoch]

Peters is by far better than anyone on our line. He was average this year but better than all teh clowns we had at tackle this year!

He was that a) before his injury, and b) before he stopped bothering to try.

[MikeInRoch]

Nobody is, but he was by far out best OL on the roster.

He might have been the best tackle. Not the best OL.

[Gunzlingr]

So now even if we get Vick we need a RT

AND a QB!

[Blame Canada]

I heard he was going to be cut along with the other 7 players because he had failed a physical. He decided to go out on his own terms and pursue other endeavors.

[Michael82]

I heard he was going to be cut along with the other 7 players because he had failed a physical. He decided to go out on his own terms and pursue other endeavors.
Wow! If he was going to be cut...I would have been pissed.

[Dicknoze69]

I heard he was going to be cut along with the other 7 players because he had failed a physical. He decided to go out on his own terms and pursue other endeavors.

That's pretty interesting info. Our front office must be pretty confident they already have other OL talent (doubtful), or are confident in their ability to find OL talent quickly.

[ServoBillieves]

LOL Brad Butler hasn't had enough of a career to retire from anything.

What's next? Dakota Fanning retires from acting?

Fred Savage. That is all.

[TigerJ]

I don't pretend to know what Butler is thinking. Maybe he really believes there is more to life than football. Financially, he's set if he has invested what he's already been paid to play football. As far as the Bills are concerned, yes they need to draft an offensive tackle early. In some ways the situation has been simplified for the Bills. They have a couple young players that may have the abillity to play right tackle in Demetrius Bell and Jamon Meredith. They probably weren't going to get an opportunity with Butler on the roster.. Some posters here have suggested Bell should be the Bills right tackle. I don't know that they are ready to start, but they are almost certainly more ready than they were when they started games last season. If, and it is admittedly a big "if," the Bills can acquire a solid starting left tackle via free agency and/or the draft, they may not be in bad shape at the tackle position after all.

[jamze132]

Why is anyone bagging on Butler for retiring? It's his life, his choice. I'm sure his injuries had at least a little to do with his decision as well.

I can't blame him for the decision he made. Good luck to him.

[Romes]

Good for him walking away from the game relatively healthy and with a bright future still ahead of him.

Sure, as a Bills fan I'm a bit dissapointed he didn't stick around but I can't fault him for his decision.

[dannyek71]

Anyone know how the guys injury was healing? Wasn't he the guy who was eying a political career?

Playing for the Buffalo Bills and being a politician. Two things you never want to see your son grow up to do.

[Ickybaluky]

Anyone know how the guys injury was healing? Wasn't he the guy who was eying a political career?

Playing for the Buffalo Bills and being a politician. Two things you never want to see your son grow up to do.

Worked pretty good for Jack Kemp.

[Night Train]

Worked pretty good for Jack Kemp.

and Ed Rutkowski

[justasportsfan]

well that may cause us to trade Lynch for more picks!

[ParanoidAndroid]

Can Levitre play RT?

Yes but a veteran would be better. Incognito at guard.... hope and pray Wood comes back and get a replacement in the meantime. We need an injection of veterans. FA should focus on the O-line. Clifton, Taucher, Bobby Williams, et. al...... go get 'em!

Still draft a LT.

[ParanoidAndroid]

I never liked him and posted the same many times.

Couldn't play Tackle worth a darn, then got moved inside where he failed miserably. He's a backup on his best day.

I wish him the best in his future endevors but trying to sell this as a major loss is a reach of epic proportions. .

Well, he was groomed at guard from early on where he had little experience. They wanted him on the field but Walker was better at RT. He was looking decent after Walker left before his injury and still had some upside left.

This hurts but not greatly. It just means we lost more depth at the tackle position.

[JCBills]

big deal he was hurt all of last season and was only the starter for 1 year before that.

im sure he wasnt a corner stone in the future plans of the bills

he would have been nice for depth or 1 or 2 more year starter but hes definately not someone im losing sleep over

gl bud have fun working for a living

Actually a 2 year starter, our running numbers were always better to his side, and he only has 4 sacks allowed in his career. It's a relatively significant loss.

[Captain gameboy]

The day he got drafted, I made three claims, having watched him throughout his college career, and knowing guys who knew him well.

1. He would not be a standout tackle in the NFL, and was best suited for guard.
2. He was really bright, and a great kid.
3. He was very interested ina political career.

[HHURRICANE]

wow this team is just a sad joke more and more every day

Yep!! Brad Butler was a decent o-lioneman. That Peters trade is looking awesome.