TEMPE, Ariz. – The Drew Butler Era in Arizona is over.
The Cardinals released the 27-year-old punter on Tuesday, ending his tenure with the Arizona Cardinals after three seasons. He's come under fire for the length of his punts this season, ranking 35th in both yards per punt (42.2) and net yards per punt (35.6), but coach Bruce Arians had enough faith in Butler to stand behind him, even bringing him back after a six-week hiatus due to injury -- until Tuesday.
Butler's release one of a host of roster moves by the Cardinals in the wake of Sunday's loss at Miami. Most were sparked by injuries.
Arizona put safety Tyvon Branch (groin), safety Deone Bucannon (ankle) and tackle Ulrick John (shoulder) on injured reserve.
The Cardinals also promoted punter Matt Wile to take over for Butler and quarterback Zac Dysert, while signing linebacker Scooby Wright III off the Cleveland Browns' practice squad.
Wright is a University of Arizona product who went to Cleveland in the seventh round of this year's draft. He was inactive for the first two games of the season and then sent down to the team's practice squad. As a sophomore at Arizona in 2014, he won the Nagurski, Lombardi and Bednarik awards. He was also the Pat Tillman Pac-12 defensive player of the year. He had surgery to repair a torn meniscus early in his junior season.
Wile's promotion signaled enough confidence in him to be Chandler Catanzaro's holder. After Arizona signed Wile to the practice squad last Tuesday, Arians said he won't play Wile until he was comfortable with how well the punter could hold. Apparently that time has finally come.
