While this isn't the first time Brice Butler has made it sound like he has played his final game with the Cowboys, the wide receiver went even further in his latest Fox Sports interviews with Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharpe and then Colin Cowherd.
Butler, an unrestricted free agent in March, said he plans to test the waters this time around, unlike last spring when he signed a one-year deal before the free-agent signing period had begun.
Don't expect that to happen this year, unless of course the Cowboys decide to make him a starter.
"With Dallas, the situation has to be right for me to go back," Butler said. "I have to be a starter. If I'm not starting, I'm not going back. I think the market for me will be a little bit better. So I'm definitely going to play the market. I wouldn't mind being back in Dallas, but there's going to have to be some changes made, and I'll definitely voice that with the team and the organization."
Butler only had 15 catches for 317 yards, but his 21.1 average per catch stands out, considering the NFL qualifying leader in 2017 was Detroit's Marvin Jones (18.0). Butler did have three touchdowns, including the game's only score in the Cowboys' 6-0 win over the Eagles.
"When you think about the business aspect, you've got to follow the money trail. Both of our starters made money," Butler said. "Terrance [Williams] just got paid last year. So there were times where I was like, I'm making plays, aren't we trying to win games? Why am I not on the field?"
Butler wouldn't speculate whether Dez Bryant would return in 2018 but didn't sound optimistic of a scenario that would have them playing together.
"We'll see. I don't know. I mean Dez has been the guy there, so it's kind of unfair for me to say a guy like Dez has to be gone because he's 75-plus touchdowns there," Butler said. "He's done some stuff that I've dreamed of doing as a kid for an organization. It's unfair to say, but going into free agency, thinking about Dallas, there will be some things that I would have to know before anything [happens]."
