Since the New England Patriots fell short in Super Bowl LII against the Philadelphia Eagles, a lot of attention has been focused on head coach Bill Belichick's decision to not play cornerback Malcolm Butler.

The former Pro Bowler issued a response to the situation on Tuesday afternoon, giving his side of the story. Butler denied allegations of certain actions in the weeks leading up to the Super Bowl that were rumored to have caused the benching.

Butler's comments have already garnered the support of quarterback Tom Brady.

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Brady's reaction could be a sign that there were other players in the locker room who didn't agree with Belichick's decision to bench arguably the Patriots' best defensive player in the Super Bowl. Belichick didn't tell the team his decision until a few hours before kickoff , catching many people within the organization by surprise. It likely played an influential part in the team's struggles defensively against the Eagles.

Super Bowl MVP quarterback Nick Foles led Philadelphia to post 538 total offensive yards on Sunday afternoon, including 373 passing yards three passing touchdowns, and a receiving touchdown of his own. The Patriots simply had no answer defensively, struggling to generate a pass rush and while failing to stick with anyone in the secondary.

Butler's stance appears to hold much truth given the support of the Patriots' quarterback, which further clouds what exactly led to Belichick deciding to bench the 27-year-old in the biggest game of the season. Butler was one of the team's most dependable players on defense as a key cog to their game plan in his first four years in the league.

The only thing that is clear at this point is that Butler will head to the free agent market, where he will receive plenty of attention from several teams. Ultimately, there should be a definitive answer in the coming weeks as to what led to Belichick making this possibly game-changing decision.