FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Patriots announced that they have placed CB Malcolm Butler and CB Joejuan Williams on injured reserve. In addition, the Patriots released rookie free agent P Jake Julien.
Butler, 32, re-signed with New England on March 24, 2022. The 5-foot-11, 190-pounder originally entered the NFL as a rookie free agent with New England out of West Alabama and spent his first four NFL seasons (2014-17) with the Patriots. He signed with Tennessee as an unrestricted free agent on March 14, 2018 and played with the Titans for three seasons (2018-20). Butler signed with Arizona in 2021 but retired on Aug. 31, 2021. Overall, Butler has played in 100 games with 84 starts and has registered 405 total tackles, three sacks, 17 interceptions with two returned for touchdowns, 82 passes defensed, five forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. In addition, he has played in 12 postseason games with eight starts and has added 42 total tackles, two interceptions and 10 passes defensed.
Williams, 24, is a veteran of three NFL seasons after originally joining New England as a second-round draft pick in the 2019 NFL Draft out of Vanderbilt. The 6-foot-3, 212-pounder, has played in 36 games with one start and has registered 38 total tackles and seven special teams tackles. He has also played in two postseason games with one start, adding five total tackles and one special teams tackle.
Julien, 23, was originally signed by New England as a rookie free agent out of Eastern Michigan on May 9, 2022. The 6-foot-1, 225-pounder spent five years at Eastern Michigan and finished with 221 punts for 9,726 yards for a 44.0-yard average.
