The New England Patriots will see a old friend across the line of scrimmage Sunday, and he’s coming back to Foxborough with some momentum.
Former Patriots defensive tackle Adam Butler recorded his most productive game of the season in the Las Vegas Raiders’ 30-27 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Oct. 4. Butler finished with four tackles, half a sack, one tackle for loss and a quarterback hit.
The performance marked Butler’s first sack production of 2026 and gave the 32-year-old his highest tackle total through four games. Pro Football Reference’s game log shows Butler had totaled five tackles with no sacks, tackles for loss or quarterback hits over Las Vegas’ first three games.
Now he gets a reunion with the organization that gave him his NFL start.
The Raiders visit Gillette Stadium on Sunday, Oct. 11, with New England looking to spring off of its 29-26 victory over the Buffalo Bills.
Butler Finds Pass-Rush Spark Before Patriots Reunion
Butler’s season had been relatively quiet before the Raiders faced Kansas City.
He had no sacks before Week 4 and had recorded only one tackle in each of Las Vegas’ first two games before making three against the New Orleans Saints. His work against the Chiefs represented a noticeable step forward, particularly as a pass rusher.
That production also came against one of the NFL’s premier offenses. Butler registered his half-sack and quarterback hit as Las Vegas pushed the Chiefs until the final minutes before suffering its first loss of the season.
The veteran has fell into a smaller role in 2026 after serving as a regular starter for the Raiders during the previous two seasons. Butler started 16 games in 2024 and 15 in 2025, per his NFL career statistics. He produced five sacks in 2024 and also recorded five during his first year with Las Vegas in 2023.
Through four games this season, Butler has one start, nine combined tackles and half a sack.
Butler has spent enough time in the league to capitalize on favorable matchups, and Patriots fans know the interior pressure he can create when he gets rolling.
Butler Learned in New England
The Patriots were the team that believed in Butler initially.
Butler went undrafted out of Vanderbilt in 2017 before signing with New England as a rookie free agent. He entered training camp facing long odds, but earned a spot on the defending Super Bowl champions’ 53-man roster. Butler said at the time that he had told his parents he was going to New England to make the team, per a 2018 profile from the Tennessee Titans’ official website.
He ended up sticking around for four seasons.
Butler appeared in 63 regular-season games for the Patriots from 2017 through 2020 and collected 15 sacks. His best pass-rushing season came in 2019, when he registered a career-high six sacks and five passes defensed.
His New England tenure also included seven postseason appearances and a championship.
Butler was part of the Patriots team that defeated the Los Angeles Rams 13-3 in Super Bowl LIII, with the franchise’s official Super Bowl roster listing him among the 53 players who made the trip to Atlanta.
Butler left New England for the Miami Dolphins in 2021 before joining the Raiders in 2023.
As the Vanderbilt product remains an NFL contributor five years following his Patriots tenure, he’ll have a shot to show off against his ex-team on Sunday.
Former Patriots SB Champion Returns With Raiders After Best Game of Season