Devin McCourty played defense without Malcolm Butler in the Super Bowl, and now he is coming to the defense of his much-scrutinized teammate as the NFL offseason gets underway.

After playing 97.8 percent of the Patriots' defensive snaps during the regular season, Butler did not play any in the loss to the Eagles.

The mysterious decision combined with coach Bill Belichick's tight-lipped approach led to anonymously sourced reports Butler was benched for disciplinary reasons.

Not so, believes McCourty, one of the first members of the Patriots to speak on the subject since the Super Bowl LII postgame locker rooms emptied out.

"As far as I know, all of that is the furthest thing from the truth," McCourty told NJ Advance Media. "We all knew he wasn't starting all week. That wasn't a secret to the guys on the team.

"I get why people are fishing. The guy played 98 percent of the plays. I just hate that for him character-wise going into free agency. It's just not true. As far as I know -- and I was there all week -- not one time did anything come up."

McCourty is a seven-year defensive captain for the Patriots, so he might have been more clued in ahead of time than others. Eric Rowe, who started in place of Butler, and Patriots owner Bob Kraft have claimed to be in the dark.

Butler, who felt like the coaches "gave up" on him, posted a message to social media denying "hurtful" accusations that he went to a concert, missed team curfew and other "ridiculous activities being reported." The note also read like a goodbye to Patriots fans.

"It sucked for him," McCourty said. "He put a lot of time and effort in. However it falls, the last thing you want to do is not play a snap. To me, the worst part was to see all that (anonymous) stuff come out after."

McCourty addressed the situation at a Rutgers-based fundraiser for Tackle Sickle Cell. The charity he founded with his twin brother Jason, a cornerback for the Browns, has netted more than $1 million since inception to help children with sickle cell disease and their families.

The two-time All-Pro was not questioning the game-plan decision made by his coaches, but rather setting the record straight on his personal experience alongside Butler for four seasons.

"Great teammate," McCourty said. "It's cool for me to see. He came in as an undrafted rookie in 2014 and didn't know a thing about playing in the NFL or life as a NFL player. He's grown so much."

Butler capped his rookie season as an undrafted free agent by making the game-winning interception in Super Bowl XLIX.

Three years later, the 27-year-old three-year starter will be one of the top cornerbacks on the market as long as teams aren't scared off by his unexplained benching.

"From there," McCourty said, referring back to Butler's career-changing interception, "he could've easily fell into the trap of hit every appearance and make as much money as possible and think it's all just going to happen. Instead, he skyrocketed."

McCourty understands the NFL business. He is signed through 2019 on a five-year deal agreed upon entering the 2015 season.

The Patriots let go of starting cornerback Logan Ryan, McCourty's longtime teammate and fellow Rutgers alum, last offseason. As he showed then, McCourty tries to support -- not sway -- his teammates in free agency.

"It's been great to watch him develop," McCourty said of Butler. "To watch him, maybe, be late one day his rookie year, and say, 'Hey Malc, you can't do that.' And then becoming a guy you can count on who is very dependable.

"If he decides it's hard to come back after that, anywhere he goes, the guy is a great football player and probably one of the most competitive people I've been around. With all my guys, we're teammates and friends for life."

Ryan Dunleavy may be reached at rdunleavy@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @rydunleavy. Find our Giants coverage on Facebook.

