One of the storylines surrounding the Philadelphia Eagles upsetting the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII was the benching of Pro Bowl corner Malcolm Butler. Despite starting through playoffs for the Pats and being healthy, Butler didn’t play on defense against the Eagles and was only part of the special teams.
The reasons why Butler was benched remained a mystery in the following years, as neither the player nor Patriots head coach Bill Belichick spoke publicly about the subject since. But they aren’t a mystery anymore, thanks to ESPN senior writer Seth Wickersham.
In his recently published book It’s Better to Be Feared: The New England Patriots Dynasty and the Pursuit of Greatness, Wickersham claims that Butler wasn’t a contributor in Super Bowl LII because of an argument with Matt Patricia. The latter was New England’s defensive coordinator at the time.
According to the book, the two men “traded heated words at practice” in the days leading to the game with Patricia accusing Butler of “lack of effort” during the exchange. Following the argument, Butler was buried on the Pats’ depth chart and given just one snap on special teams against the Eagles.
Butler, who won two Super Bowls with New England in previous years, would leave the franchise a month later after signing a big-time contract with the Tennessee Titans. Butler entered the 2021 NFL offseason with the Arizona Cardinals but decided to retire before the season started.
