Robert Kraft critical of Bill Belichick benching Malcolm Butler in Super Bowl

In “The Dynasty” docuseries, Robert Kraft commented on Bill Belichick’s unpopular decision to bench Malcolm Butler in Super Bowl LII

Former New England Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler’s benching at Super Bowl LII was a big talking point in the Apple TV+ docuseries “The Dynasty: New England Patriots.”

Past and current members of the Patriots weighed in on Bill Belichick’s decision, including owner Robert Kraft, who was blunt in his assessment of the situation.

The Patriots defense could not stop the Eagles in that game, as Philadelphia recorded 538 total yards of offense.

The New England secondary struggled throughout the course of the game, and Butler’s absence was undoubtedly felt on the defensive unit. New England could not stop the Philadelphia passing attack in a game where the Eagles recorded 374 yards through the air with their backup quarterback, Nick Foles, under center.

“What has been told to me is that there was something personal going on between Bill and Malcolm that was not football-related,” Kraft said, as transcribed by AtoZ Sports’ Sophie Weller. “I always felt that every decision Bill had made had been to put what’s in the best interest of the team first and put emotion aside. But with Malcolm, he did just the opposite.”

Many of Belichick’s decisions are hard to argue with due to the sustained success the team had for nearly two decades. However, the decision to bench Butler undoubtedly looms as one of the most heavily criticized to this very day.

Former Titans CB Malcolm Butler retires from NFL

Ex-Titans CB Malcolm Butler recently revealed he has retired from the NFL.

Former Tennessee Titans cornerback Malcolm Butler has decided to hang up his cleats after seven seasons in the NFL.

“I am retired,” Butler told Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2. “I did the best I can do. Walking away from the game feeling comfortable. Everybody can do more, but I’m satisfied with my career. It’s time to move on and transition.”

To keep himself busy after retirement, Butler is involved in real estate and says he’d like to write movie scripts and even possibly do standup comedy.

“There’s a lot of things I can do,” he said. “I want to keep myself busy.”

A former undrafted free agent, Butler last played in the NFL in 2020 with the Titans. He then retired in 2021 after signing with the Arizona Cardinals but decided to come out of retirement to rejoin the New England Patriots in 2022.

After suffering an injury in August that landed him on injured reserve, Butler was released by the Pats with an injury settlement. He later met with the Miami Dolphins and Atlanta Falcons but did not sign with either team.

Butler came to the Titans in 2018 and after initially struggling, he rounded into form and became a plus defender for Tennessee.

His most memorable moment came with the Pats during Super Bowl XLIX, when he picked off then-Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson in the closing seconds to clinch the game.

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Ranking the 8 greatest prodigal son returns for Patriots

Who were the top former player returns for the Patriots in the Bill Belichick era?

New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick likes what he knows.

He isn’t the kind of guy always aiming to reinvent the wheel or create a massive shake-up. If something has worked for him in the past, there’s a good chance he’ll give it another try down the line.

That’s the basic philosophy behind the Patriots’ tendency to bring back past players in a pinch.

New England is a revolving door of past Patriots that have sought opportunities elsewhere, only to return to the same place where they made a name for themselves. In many ways, New England is a place where names are born, leave and come back to be recognized all over again.

Here are the top eight prodigal son returns for the Patriots in the Belichick era.

Ex-Patriots Super Bowl hero attempting comeback with NFL tryout

Former Patriots Super Bowl hero is reportedly looking to join NFC team.

Former New England Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler isn’t ready to ride off into the sunset, not without at least one more potential run in the NFL. The Super Bowl XLIX hero is reportedly working out with the Atlanta Falcons on Tuesday.

There was hope that an opportunity would come from his reunion with the Patriots last year, but he ended up on injured reserve and was ultimately released by the team.

You’d have to go all the way back to his 2020 run with the Tennessee Titans to find the last NFL game Butler even took a snap in. His last workout came in last October with the Miami Dolphins, but it didn’t go anywhere.

Butler is mostly known for securing the game-clinching interception on former Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson at Super Bowl XLIX. Some even argued his benching at Super Bowl LII cost the Patriots a championship.

It has been a tremendous career for the former undrafted rookie out of West Alabama, whether he gets another NFL run or not. His legacy has already been cemented as a Pro Bowler, All-Pro and most importantly, two-time Super Bowl champion.

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Patriots salary cap: Tracking New England’s $18 million in dead money

Here’s where the Patriots’ dead money situation stands ahead of the 2023 season.

The New England Patriots have made it past June 1, which means the team’s salary will be less impacted by any trades or contract releases for the 2023 season.

When it comes to dead money, the Patriots are sitting at the middle of the pack in the NFL, mostly due to all of the money they had tied up in former tight end Jonnu Smith’s contract.

Dead cap is money or any guaranteed salary still being paid to players that were moved from the roster. The Patriots are currently sitting at $18,174,272 in dead money, per Over The Cap.

Here are nine former Patriots players eating up a portion of the team’s salary cap ahead of the 2023 season:

Devin McCourty reveals meeting over Malcolm Butler Super Bowl benching

Devin McCourty had some interesting comments on the infamous Malcolm Butler Super Bowl LII benching.

One of the biggest NFL mysteries of all time belongs to the New England Patriots, when they made the shocking decision to bench then-cornerback Malcolm Butler at Super Bowl LII against the Philadelphia Eagles.

What followed was a defensive collapse for the ages in a game where even Tom Brady’s 505-yard passing performance couldn’t save the team.

Retired Patriots safety Devin McCourty had some interesting things to say on the incident when appearing on the “Green Light with Chris Long.”

“Think about, if there was something to know, we’re years past, all of those guys on the team, and you haven’t heard anybody [reveal anything],” said McCourty. “Like, none of us knew. As a matter of fact, the next year, I remember meeting with [defensive coach Brian Flores], and Flo was like, ‘Hey, we’ve just got to make sure that whole situation doesn’t affect the team this year.’

“He was like, ‘I look back at Seattle when we played them in the Super Bowl, and they don’t run the ball. It kind of seemed like that was the end of that team. They never got back to the Super Bowl.’ And that team was so talented. That Seattle team had everything. He was like, ‘I just don’t want that to destroy us.'”

McCourty admitted both he and former teammate Stephon Gilmore are looking forward to reading Butler’s upcoming book, which might provide more details on what actually happened behind the scenes.

It’s still crazy that the Patriots were such a tight-lipped organization that even the players on the team didn’t know what happened with Butler.

Fortunately, New England didn’t turn into Seattle and bounced back the following season by defeating the Los Angeles Rams 13-3 to win Super Bowl LIII.

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Marshawn Lynch still having nightmares about Super Bowl goal line play

Marshawn Lynch is still surprised by the decision to not hand him the ball at the goal line in Super Bowl XLIX.

Former Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch still has nightmares about Malcolm Butler’s interception at the goal line that gave the New England Patriots a 28-24 victory over the Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX.

The interception occurred at the goal line on a play where many thought Lynch would get the football. Seattle was driving down the field towards the end of the fourth quarter on a drive that took seven plays and accumulated 79 yards. Lynch had run the football for four yards to the New England one-yard line on the previous play.

What followed was the biggest play of Butler’s career, and it gave New England their fourth Super Bowl title. Lynch appeared on the I AM ATHLETE podcast and described his feelings on the play.

“So when it comes to the play call, and that was the type of situation. Yeah, I’m hot as (expletive). I’m boiling,” Lynch said. “And the only thing I can do was think, ‘I need to get in his face, for I’m about to laugh at (him) so hard.’ Because I know for a fact, like, if we run that ball four times and we don’t score, everybody on our team, from the front office to the (expletive) janitors will say, ‘Well, (expletive). Yup, well, we deserve to lose that (expletive).’

“So then what happened is you in that mindset of (expletive) should have gave me the ball, should have gave me the ball—this, that and the third. But what it let me do was it really got me the opportunity to see how people really felt about me. So when I walk in that building after that (expletive) and …(expletives) was hot. That was a level of respect for me.”

A Super Bowl win over the Seahawks would set the stage for another string of Patriots titles.

One has to wonder how things might have looked if Seattle ran the football on that play. It’s something that Lynch apparently still thinks about, and it does make you wonder what the trajectory of the league would have looked like had Seattle scored a touchdown and won the game.

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Malcolm Butler comments on if he’d ever play for Patriots again

Here’s what Malcolm Butler said when asked if he’d get a storybook ending with the Patriots.

Former New England Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler’s storybook ending crumbled prematurely in 2022.

Four years after making the decision to leave the Patriots for the Tennessee Titans, the Super Bowl XLIX hero returned to New England in hopes of finishing his career where it all started in 2014, as an undrafted rookie out of West Alabama.

But those hopes were ultimately cut short after an injury landed him on injured reserve before the season. He agreed to an injury settlement with the Patriots and was released last August.

When asked if he still thinks that storybook ending is possible with the Patriots, Butler left the door open for another reunion.

“I’m not sure about that one,” said Butler, according to The Athletic’s Jeff Howe. “I’m ready to take any opportunity. If I go back to play football, I’m going to take any opportunity that comes my way, and I’m going to run with it. I’m going to grind and do the best I can with that opportunity. Once something is gone, you’ve got to cherish those moments. I love the game of football. It’s hard to get into the NFL. Just can’t take those moments for granted.”

At age 32, there’s no certainty Butler will even return to the NFL field, much less finish his career with the Patriots.

There’s a full-blown youth movement happening right now in the New England secondary with the emergence of Jack Jones and Marcus Jones. The Patriots might also add another corner for depth in the 2023 NFL draft.

One also has to wonder if Butler’s upcoming book and documentary, particularly the stuff related to his infamous Super Bowl LII benching, would have an impact at a second attempt at a reunion.

However, regardless of whether Butler plays another snap again or not, it’s clear he’s deserving of finishing his career as a Patriot.

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Malcolm Butler always planned to ‘spill beans’ on Patriots Super Bowl LII benching

Malcolm Butler has been planning to tell his side on his infamous Super Bowl LII benching for quite some time.

While doing interviews during Super Bowl week, former New England Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler teased he might finally be ready to reveal his side of the story behind his infamous benching by the Patriots at Super Bowl LII.

At the time, Butler served as the team’s No. 2 corner across from Stephon Gilmore. The Patriots went on to lose that Super Bowl 41-33 to backup quarterback Nick Foles and the Philadelphia Eagles. It was a game where the Eagles specifically exposed the Patriots at that position.

Yet, even when the defense couldn’t stop the bleeding, Butler was shockingly kept on the sidelines.

The veteran defensive back is currently working on a documentary and a book that might answer one of the biggest mysteries in Patriots’ history.

“There’s some good stuff in there. I knew one day I was going to spill the beans, but I want to do it the right way,” said Butler in a follow-up, per ESPN’s Mike Reiss.

Butler might end up having a hit on his hands with the solving of that mystery alone.

There’s also the fact that his story is one of the most fascinating in sports considering he entered the league as an undrafted rookie and made the game-winning interception that earned the Patriots their fourth Lombardi Trophy at Super Bowl XLIX.

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This was Malcolm Butler’s reaction to Matt Patricia calling offense

Here’s how Malcolm Butler reacted when he learned Matt Patricia would be the Patriots’ offensive play-caller in 2022.

Former New England Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler spoke with Scott Zolak and Marc Bertrand on Super Bowl’s radio row Thursday afternoon. He touched on several topics, including Matt Patricia running the Patriots offense during the 2022 season.

Butler signed with the organization as an undrafted rookie free agent in 2014, before signing a deal with the Tennessee Titans in 2018. He signed a contract to return to New England in 2022, but he was placed on injured reserve in August and never saw the field.

Butler worked under Patricia when he served as the defensive coordinator for the Patriots.

Like most, he was confused by New England’s decision to name Patricia as the team’s offensive play-caller for the 2022 season, as reported by NESN.com’s Zack Cox.

“I’m not trying to judge or throw nobody under the bus, but yeah, I was shocked [Matt Patricia was calling the offensive plays],” said Butler. “I was kind of shocked that he was doing offense. Matty P is a defensive guy, 100 percent. He’s a defensive guy. Not saying offensive guys are soft, but he likes tough guys and tough guys play defense.”

New England will have a remade offensive unit with Bill O’Brien running the show on that side of the football. In the meantime, Butler will have things of his own planned, including a tell-all book where he might finally broach the topic of his Super Bowl LII benching.

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