What Malcolm Butler's Retirement Means for Cardinals vs. Titans

The Arizona Cardinals’ defense was dealt a major blow on Tuesday when the team placed starting cornerback Malcolm Butler on the reserve/retired list as he deals with a personal matter.

Without Butler, the Cardinals’ depth chart lists Byron Murphy Jr. and Tay Gowan as the team’s starting corners. Murphy Jr., a second-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, started just seven games last season after starting all 16 games in his rookie season. 

Gowan, a sixth-round pick in this year’s draft, will likely get a crack at the starting job along with rookie Marco Wilson until Robert Alford comes off the COVID-19 list. 

Arizona takes on the Tennessee Titans in Week 1, and this may be a great time for bettors to take the over (the total is set at 52.0 at WynnBET) or take the Titans to be the highest scoring team in the NFL in Week 1 at +1200 odds. 

Tennessee added Julio Jones to an already explosive offense that finished with the third-most yards and fourth-most points in the league last season. If Gowan or Wilson is forced to start on Jones or A.J. Brown, quarterback Ryan Tannehill may have a field day picking on the rookies. 

Even if Alford is cleared in time for Week 1, the veteran hasn’t played a regular season snap since 2018. Yeah, the Cardinals are down bad at corner right now. 

Arizona’s offense is also a high-scoring bunch, and Kyler Murray is actually favored to lead the NFL in passing yards in Week 1 against Tennessee’s defense. This matchup is begging bettors to take the over at 52.0, and I think this is the perfect time to jump on it before oddsmakers start to raise that number. 

Arizona has playoff aspirations, but losing a player like Butler that was expected to fill the shoes of Patrick Peterson is going to make things much harder this season. The Cardinals are still +500 to win the NFC West, but those are the worst odds in what is supposed to be one of the most competitive divisions in the NFL.

Will the Titans put up a ton of points in Week 1? Get in on the action with the WynnBET app.