Jake Butt watched from the sidelines during Broncos organized team activities last summer as what easily could be called a cautionary tale — an NFL-ready senior Michigan tight end that played in a college bowl season only to tear an ACL. Butt watched his draft stock tumble while college stars such as Christian McCaffrey and Leonard Fournette opted out of playing in bowl games and thrived as NFL rookies.
Butt, who didn’t play an NFL down last fall, gets the same question all the time. Any regrets about playing in the Citrus Bowl? He wants none of that narrative.