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San Diego Chargers Linebacker Donald Butler has been released by the team

Just two years removed from his big contract extension, Tom Telesco and the San Diego Chargers have cut ties with much-maligned linebacker Donald Butler

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The news is coming straight from the horses mouth himself.

I'm sure Butler is a great guy and we all wish him the best of luck moving forward. It just wasn't working out on the field and he increasingly saw his playing time diminish. By seasons end Butler was lucky to see the field on defense. The play of rookie Denzel Perryman made this an easy decision for the Chargers.

Butler showed flashes early in his career but never really put it together. I never thought he was as good as fans made him out to be back then. Butler lacked effort and you just can't have that mentality playing in the middle of the defense.

From a salary cap perspective, the team eats $4.63 million, gain $4.65 in base salary. Most importantly if he was kept this year he would've been owed a $12 million option bonus. This move was going to happen, it was more of a "when." Many thought it wouldn't be until June 1st because it would be "cheaper" to cut him.

By cutting him pre-June 1st, Butler costs the team $6.69 million in dead money this year. He had three years left on his contract, and his prorated signing bonus is $2.23 million per year. So because he's being cut before June 1st, the last 3 years of his signing bonus all count in 2016. Had he been cut after June 1st, his signing bonus would have counted $2.23 million in 2016, and $4.46 million in 2017. This just means after this year, he's off the books.

I look at it as an addition by subtraction move. What do you think, was it smarter to release Butler now or wait until June 1st?