The New England Patriots closed the busiest week of this year’s training camp so far by making a change to the backend of their roster. In a rookie-for-rookie transaction, they signed safety Eric Butler and placed defensive tackle David Blay Jr. on waivers.
Let’s assess what the moves mean for the team from a big-picture perspective.
Added versatility
Butler spent his entire four-year college career at San Diego State, appearing in 48 games with 23 starts. While not a particularly noteworthy athlete as evidenced by
his 5.86 Relative Athletic Score, he managed to make a positive impact on the Aztecs’ defense throughout his tenure.
That is in large part because of his versatility. He primarily lined up as a box safety/linebacker hybrid his first two season. While offering solid length at 6-foot-2, he didn’t have the bulk to necessarily flourish in that role and was moved around the formation from his sophomore campaign on: he added slot duties, and later also saw regular action as a free safety. Per Pro Football Focus, he eventually ended his stint at San Diego State with 648 slot snaps, 474 box snaps, 294 free safety snaps as well as 21 split out wide and 14 on the line of scrimmage.
He also has five-units special teams experience, with most of his action coming on the punt return unit, where he mostly served as a rusher, as well as on kickoff coverage and field goal/extra point block. He blocked two punts during his college career and registered five tackles in the game’s third phase.
Given his versatile skillset, it would not be a surprise if Butler was eventually used as a rotational safety and multi-unit special teamer in preseason. With Brenden Schooler remaining on the NFI list, that would give the club some extra depth in two areas.
Improved safety depth
Speaking of Brenden Schooler, he and Butler are now two of eight total safeties on New England’s roster. The full group looks as follows, per our regularly updated Patriots depth chart:
Safety (8): Kevin Byard (31), Craig Woodson (4), Mike Brown (33), Dell Pettus (24), Brenden Schooler (41), John Saunders Jr. (23), Peter Manuma (34), Eric Butler (—)
Out of those eight safeties, three are locks to make the team. Kevin Byard and Craig Woodson are the starting duo, with Schooler a team captain on special teams. According to head coach Mike Vrabel, he remains a “large part” of the team’s plans but there is no “reason to rush him back now until he’s as close to 100% as he possibly can be.”
As for the other safeties on the roster, including Butler, they will compete for what realistically will be no more than two if not just one spot. Needless to say, the newest addition to the group is likely facing the longest odds.
Unsurprising outcome
To make room for Butler, the Patriots parted ways with fellow undrafted free agent David Blay Jr. Waiving the 23-year-old reduces the defensive tackle group to nine players, which is still sufficient depth considering that New England recently signed veteran free agent Casey Rogers.
The Rogers addition already seemed to mark the end of Blay’s journey; the new signing was present at practice wearing the same jersey number while the youngster was nowhere to be seen. That eventually turned out not to be the case, and Blay was back at practice the next day. Still, given that he did not make any noticeable contributions in training camp so far, the writing very much remained on the wall.
Blay will now get a chance to go through waivers and get claimed by another team. If not, he will become a free agent.
Minor cap impact
Butler’s three-year UDFA deal with the Patriots is unlikely to include a signing bonus, which means that his addition has no immediate impact on the Patriots’ current salary cap space. The same is not true for waiving Blay.
Blay’s own rookie pact featured a $10,000 signing bonus prorated over three years. Its impact on the 2026 books remains the same regardless of his status: it was $3,333 before he was cut, and it remains $3,333 now, albeit in dead cap. The entire rest of that bonus, however, will now hit the 2027 books for a combined sum of $6,667.
In addition, Blay’s $50,000 salary guarantee might also become relevant soon. If he goes unclaimed through the waiver wire, it too would hit the Patriots’ 2026 books as dead cap to increase his potential combined salary cap impact for this season to $53,333.
