New England Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler is surprisingly not playing in Super Bowl LII against the Philadelphia Eagles. According to NBC’s Al Michaels, his network has told him that Butler’s inactivity in the game is a decision by head coach Bill Belichick. Michaels also noted that further details about Butler’s benching have been hard to come by.
Via Juddy Battista of NFL.com:
Al Michaels says NBC has been told Butler not playing on defense is “coach's decision”. Michaels notes it was easier to get info out of the old East Germany.
Earlier this week, Malcolm Butler was reportedly taken to a hospital after showing flu-like symptoms but was later released. Butler also got back to practicing with the team, which signified that he would be ready to go this Sunday. That is not what is happening so far in the Super Bowl, however, as Butler has yet to appear in a single snap. In fact, according to NFL Research’s Twitter account, Super Bowl LII is the first Pats game in which Butler failed to log in a single snap in the first quarter since the team’s Super Bowl XLIX win against the Seattle Seahawks.
Malcolm Butler did not play a defensive snap in the first quarter of #SBLII. It is the first Patriots game in which Butler did not play a first-quarter snap since Super Bowl XLIX, which he capped with a game-sealing INT
Butler has been a fixture of the Patriots’ defense over the past few seasons. He has played in all of the Patriots’ regular-season games since 2015. He also appeared in the team’s first two games in these playoffs against the Tennessee Titans and the Jacksonville Jaguars. Butler had 60 combined tackles and two interceptions in the 2017 regular season.
As of this writing, the Patriots trail the Eagles, 22-12 at the half.
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