Malcolm Butler’s benching in the Patriots’ Super Bowl LII loss to the Eagles was a surprise to all fans.

It wasn’t a surprise to Butler’s teammates though.

Patriots safety Devin McCourty said that the team knew in the lead-up before the game that Butler would not play in the Super Bowl.

“I hated when all of [the Butler news] came out,” McCourty said in an interview with 98.5 The Sports Hub’s “Toucher and Rich” on Friday. “Because everybody was like, ‘They found out a day before or in the locker room.’ Nah everyone knew that (Butler wasn’t going to play) going into the game. That wasn’t the way we practiced.”


“For anybody that’s in the New England area, do they really think we took the field and didn’t prepare? That was already the plan,” McCourty added.

Even though they knew Butler wasn’t going to play before the game, McCourty said he “never” got an explanation when he was asked if Bill Belichick ever told the team why Butler did not play.

Just in case you needed another reminder as to how the Patriots defense played in that game, they gave up 41 points and 538 yards in a 41-33 loss to the Eagles. Nick Foles, who was replacing an injured Carson Wentz, threw for 373 yards and earned Super Bowl MVP honors for his performance in that game.

The Patriots could have used any sort of help on defense that day, but Belichick decided that Butler would not provide the Patriots with the help they needed.