New England Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler was benched for Sunday’s Super Bowl — leaving him frustrated after the Patriots’ 41-33 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
To that point, Butler had been one of the Patriots’ top corners, but he didn’t take a single snap against the Eagles. In 2015, Butler made a game-winning interception in the end zone to stop the Seattle Seahawks from scoring in Super Bowl XLIX.
“They gave up on me,” Butler told ESPN. “[Expletive]. It is what it is.”
The decision was a curious one, especially considering the Eagles threw for 374 yards and had 538 total yards on offense.
Patriots coach Bill Belichick declined to give a reason why Butler was benched, other than to say it was strictly football-related.
Eric Rowe started in place of Butler.
Butler is set to be an unrestricted free agent in March. He had been previously linked in trade rumors last year, but ended up playing most of the snaps for the Patriots during the regular season.
In the AFC Championship, Butler played all 74 defensive snaps against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
“I guess I wasn’t playing good, Butler said. “They didn’t feel comfortable. I could have changed that game, though.”
• Matthew Paras can be reached at mparas@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.