Victor Butler rumors: Eagles will host free agent LB

Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer is reporting that free agent LB Victor Butler, who had been visiting the Browns, has left town without a contract and is en route to Philadelphia for a visit with the Eagles.

Victor Butler is a 25 year old LB that has spent the last 4 seasons with the Cowboys. He's shown upside as a pass rusher and graded out with a +7.2 according to PFF last year. He only played on 300 snaps, so he was more of a reserve player for Dallas. Overall though, PFF thinks he could be one of the real bargains in free agency this year.

While he won't receive the same pay day of his current Dallas teammate Anthony Spencer, outside linebacker Victor Butler has the potential to be one of the bargains of the offseason for the right team. Playing just 300 snaps for the Cowboys this past year, Butler had a Pass Rushing Productivity rating of 9.4, with three sacks, three hits and nine hurries from 127 pass rushing snaps.

He's far from a sure thing, with this being the most snaps he's seen in a season in his four-year career, but Butler has earned his shot at a starting gig. Grading positively both as a pass rusher and against the run in each of the past three seasons, Butler has shown that he's good enough on a limited number of snaps, and now comes his chance to do it as a starter.

Cowboys fans seem to disagree with PFF's positive run defense grade on Butler, but overall this appears to be a young player that fits the mold of what the Eagles are looking for this offseason, 3-4 experienced guys up front. In addition to Connor Barwin, he'd be just the 2nd OLB on the team with 3-4 experience.

Butler has previously visited the Steelers & Saints.