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Well thats not what I wanted to read.

papz

Victor Butler's torn ACL a devastating blow for New Orleans Saints' rebuilding defense

Victor Butler has only been with the New Orleans Saints for a couple of months, but losing him to a torn ACL feels like a devastating blow. The young pass rusher was one of the most exciting new additions to a Saints defense that desperately needs an overhaul -- especially in the pass rush.

As I wrote yesterday, I felt like Butler had the highest upside of all the Saints' outside linebackers after he showed flashes of dynamic ability as a backup with the Dallas Cowboys. He obviously had a great working relationship with new Saints defensive coordinator Rob Ryan already after following him here from Dallas. And I felt like signing Butler in free agency made it OK that the Saints didn't overpay for any other free-agent pass rushers or reach for one they didn't like in the draft.

I suppose it's possible that the Saints might consider the idea of bringing in veteran John Abraham or someone else now. But I still think that's a long shot. If they didn't think Abraham was available at the right value before, I wouldn't expect them to overpay now.

More likely, the Saints will count on returning players Will Smith, Junior Galette and Martez Wilson to all play bigger roles in what was expected to be a four-man rotation. More than ever now, it's a good thing the Saints have been grooming Smith as an outside linebacker instead of a defensive end. They also have rookie outside linebackers with upside in Rufus Johnson and Chase Thomas, but it will be tough to count on instant success from either one of them.

Even before Butler got hurt, the Saints' No. 1 priority on defense was finding a way to generate a pass rush that has been sorely lacking in recent years. Switching to a 3-4 defensive scheme under Ryan was a great start. But now that Butler's out of the picture this year, Ryan's job just got a whole lot harder.

Victor Butler's torn ACL a devastating blow for New Orleans Saints' rebuilding defense | NOLA.com

I think "devastating" may be stretching it... by a good margin. He was one of 4 or 5 players that were going to be rotating at OLB.

Everyone is entitled to be stupid, but some abuse the privilege.

All little common sense goes a long way.

biloxi-indian

@brettmartel: AP source: #Saints LB Victor Butler seeking 2nd opinion, still hope he won't miss whole season: AP source: MRI shows torn ACL for Saints' Butler

Seer1

Fingers crossed...

Jack Vegas

Martez had 3 sacks last year. Junior had 5, and 4.5 the year before that. Butler has seasons of 3, 3, 2 and 3.

Let's not act like Butler was going to be the savior of the pass rush, or that we are doomed without him. He got more playing time in a pass rush role with the Cowboys than either Wilson and Galette have had here and wasn't more productive than either one.

We will be FINE!

dizzle88

Who knows, this might make Rufus Johnson see the field also!

TheOak

Last years defensive stats are en brochette.

No Saints defense has pulled 30 or less sacks since 2008..... Other than the monkey facking a football defense of spagnuolo.

FinSaint

That's a shame.

I was really looking forward to seeing Butler play in the preseason, but injuries are bound to happen, so it's just the nature of the beast.