The benching of cornerback Malcolm Butler has been one of the most questioned decisions the New England Patriots made during the Super Bowl and now more is clear on why.
NFL insider Ian Rapoport reported that the team kept Butler off the field for a number of things which include an illness, missing curfew, and just not performing well at practice.
My understanding is the benching of #Patriots CB Malcolm Butler happened because of a perfect storm of issues: Sickness, a rough week of practice, and a minor rule violation believed to be related to curfew. A complicated matter. pic.twitter.com/TmUJgkHpsZ
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 5, 2018
Patriots head coach Bill Belichick really didn’t touch upon it in detail other than saying that while he respects Butler and his desire to play, it was a decision that was best for the team.
“I respect Malcolm’s competitiveness, and I’m sure that he felt like he could have helped,” Belichick said to ESPN.com “I’m sure other players felt the same way. In the end, we have to make the decisions that we feel are best for the football team, and that’s what we did, that’s what I did.”
Belichick took it further and made it very clear that what he said it was, was in fact the reason why it happened.
“I appreciate the question, but it would be a much longer discussion,” Belichick said. “There are a lot of things that go into that. In the end, the final decision is what I said it was.”
Butler is set to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason and in an interview with WEEI, former Patriots linebacker Rob Ninkovich gave advice to the former Super Bowl hero.
“For Malcolm[Butler], what is best for him is hit free agency,” Ninkovich stated. “He is going to go to another team here and probably get paid accordingly. I wish nothing but the best for him and hope he continues to play at a high level that we have all seen.”
