Report: Cowboys to sign former WR Butler

The Dallas Cowboys are expected to sign free agent wide receiver Brice Butler, a former key player with the team, early next week, according to a report in The Athletic. Butler spent the last three seasons with the Cowboys but left in free agency. He reportedly said he had no interest returning and he criticized former teammate Dez Bryant. The Cowboys gained only 232 yards against the Carolina Panthers last week in the season opener, passing for less than 200 yards for the seventh time in the past nine games. Cole Beasley was their leading receiver last week, with seven catches for 73 yards. Dallas had no pass plays over 20 yards. The Arizona Cardinals signed Butler but released him before the start of the season. Butler made 43 catches for 794 yards and six touchdowns in his career in Dallas, including 15 receptions for 317 yards and three touchdowns in 13 games last season. Butler joined the Cowboys via a trade with the Oakland Raiders during the outset of the 2015 season after Bryant went down with injury. He was sidelined by a hamstring injury in his first year with the Cowboys. He was active for only seven games and he started twice. The team kept him in 2016 and 2017 as a valuable complement to Bryant and Terrance Williams.