McCourty reveals conversation with Butler about infamous Super Bowl benching

McCourty reveals conversation with Butler about infamous Super Bowl benching originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Six years later, we’re still left without a clear reason for the New England Patriots’ bizarre benching of cornerback Malcolm Butler in Super Bowl LII.

Butler, a hero in Super Bowl XLIX, dressed but did not play any defensive snaps in the Patriots’ 41-33 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. He was visibly emotional on the sideline as Eric Rowe replaced him in New England’s secondary.

Former Patriots head coach Bill Belichick’s decision to sit Butler remains shrouded in mystery. There have been countless theories for why Butler didn’t play when his team needed him most, but we have yet to get a firm answer for the controversial move.

Devin McCourty, a longtime Patriots captain, is just as clueless as the rest of us. The ex-Patriots defensive back told 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Felger and Mazz that to this day, no one has informed him of why Butler was benched.

McCourty revealed a conversation he had with Butler — shortly before Butler rejoined the team in 2022 — in which he declined to explain to him why he didn’t play against Philadelphia.

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“He called me when he came back (in 2022) and he was like, ‘Hey, Belichick just called me, I might come back.'” McCourty recalled. “And I was like, ‘Really?’ I was like, ‘You took a year off, how have you been? But you would really come back here?’ And he’s like, ‘Yeah!’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, but what’s going on? What happened?’ And he didn’t say anything.”

McCourty also recalled a conversation with former Patriots defensive assistant Brian Flores, who claimed he also was left out of the loop on Butler’s benching.

“The next year, me and Brian Flores, who was the defensive coordinator the next year (after) Matty P (Matt Patricia) leaves, and he goes to me, ‘I don’t want what happened to Seattle.’ … That team was…


Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/mccourty-reveals-conversation-butler-infamous-005139665.html

Author : NBC Sports Boston

Publish date : 2024-02-09 01:38:21

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