Ex-Patriot Malcolm Butler Never Got a Reason for Super Bowl Benching

Butler said he hasn't spoken to New England coach Bill Belichick since the team left Minnesota.

Ex-New England Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler (21) looks on during the regular season NFL game between the San Francisco 49ers and the New England Patriots in 2016.(Photo by Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Ex-New England Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler (21) looks on during the regular season NFL game between the San Francisco 49ers and the New England Patriots in 2016.(Photo by Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

If you watched Super Bowl LII, you probably know that former Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler barely made it on the field.

What you don’t know, and what New England coach Bill Belichick refused to say (shocker), is why Butler didn’t play in the game.

As it turns out, Butler – who signed a five-year, $61 million free agent deal with the Tennessee Titans earlier this week – doesn’t know why he didn’t play against the Philadelphia Eagles either.

In an interview with The Boston Herald, the 28-year-old corner said he was never told why he rode the pine during the loss and hasn’t spoken with Belichick since the Pats left Minnesota.

“I never got a reason,” Butler told the paper. “I feel like this was the reason: I got kind of sick. I went to the hospital. They probably thought I was kind of late on the game plan; I wasn’t as locked in as I should be and could have been a matchup deal. It could have been anything … It didn’t work out right (against the Eagles). It didn’t work out the best for me or him (Belichick) or the New England Patriots. But I can say he won more than he lost, so it is what it is.”

Maybe now that Butler has spoken about the benching, Belichick will as well. But probably not.

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