Malcolm Butler of the Patriots Denies Wild Super Bowl Week Rumors

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Everyone seems to have a theory as to why Malcolm Butler, a starting cornerback for the Patriots, was benched for New England’s loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LII. But as the rumored explanations have continued to swirl, Butler has stuck to his assertion that he did nothing wrong — and he appears to have the support of Tom Brady in that claim.

Butler, a pending free agent who played in more than 97 percent of his team’s defensive snaps during the season but took the field for just one special teams play in the Super Bowl, posted a statement on Instagram and Twitter asserting that the rumors he had been partying or missed curfew were untrue.

“During Super Bowl week I never attended any concert, missed curfew, or participated any of the ridiculous activities being reported,” his statement said of the rumors. “They are not only false, but hurtful, to me and my family.”

Brady, who was reported by ESPN to have clashed with Coach Bill Belichick repeatedly this season, showed support for Butler in a comment on the Instagram post, saying: “Love you, Malcolm. You are an incredible player and teammate and friend. Always!!!”

Butler’s absence was a hot topic after the game. The official story from Belichick, and several players, was that Eric Rowe had been informed shortly before kickoff that he would start in Butler’s place. Rowe, who is younger, taller and heavier than Butler, could have been tapped because of Nick Foles’s reliance on throwing to his big tight ends. But the Eagles got plenty of production out of smaller, faster wide receivers, such as Nelson Agholor and Torrey Smith, which Butler presumably could have helped stop.

While people seem to want there to be some reason beyond Belichick deciding that the hero of Super Bowl XLIX — in which Butler’s last-minute interception helped seal a Patriots win — was not a good personnel fit against Philadelphia, Butler’s statement lines up with what Belichick said both after the game and when he was asked about it again Monday.

“I respect Malcolm’s competitiveness, and I’m sure that he felt like he could have helped,” Belichick told reporters on Monday. “I’m sure other players felt the same way. In the end, we have to make the decisions that we feel are best for the football team, and that’s what we did, that’s what I did.”

Butler, who signed with the Patriots as an undrafted free agent in 2014, has played in the Super Bowl in three of his first four seasons, winning two championships. He will become a free agent in March, and after his statement about the rumors — which also appeared to be a goodbye to Patriots fans — his return to New England seems unlikely.