Those who are still perplexed by Malcolm Butler's surprise Super Bowl benching can take solace in one fact: the greatest quarterback of all-time is in the dark as well.
Tom Brady first extended his public support to Butler on Instagram three months ago, calling him an "incredible player and teammate and friend." Several current and former Patriots "liked" Butler's statement about the Super Bowl slight, including Jimmy Garoppolo and Jamie Collins.
Bill Belichick shot down all questions about Butler at the league meetings in March, and almost certainly won't address the topic again. The public will forever be in the dark as to why one of the Patriots' starting cornerbacks who played 98 percent of the snaps in the regular season sat on the bench while Nick Foles put up 44 points against an overmatched defense in Super Bowl LII.
Brady, judging by his comments to Jim Gray Monday at the Milken Institute Global Conference in California, remains as confused as anybody.
"I don't make the decisions," Brady said. "I am telling you the truth. I wish he would have played, but the coach chose not to play him and we still had a chance to win."
That was remarkable to hear. Brady publicly rebuked perhaps the most controversial decision of Belichick's coaching career. The Patriots' quarterback went on to offer platitudes about how Belichick always tries to put the team in a position to win and the trust he's built over the years. But much like Brady's decision to "plead the fifth" when asked about whether he feels appreciated at work, it's apparent he had a message he wanted to send.
Danny Amendola was also blunt about his feelings on Butler in a recent interview with ESPN's Mike Reiss.
"I have my thoughts about it because I was out there putting my blood, sweat and tears out on the field that night, and one of our best players wasn't on the field," Amendola said. "To tell you the truth, I don't know why. I did ask, but I didn't get any answers.
Butler told Sports Illustrated he never received an explanation, either. The closest thing to any viable reasoning for the benching came from some anonymous Patriots players, who hinted to NBC Sports' Mike Giardi via text that Butler wasn't focused in the two weeks leading up to the big game.
With Brady and Rob Gronkowski returning for the upcoming season, all of the Patriots palace intrigue that's surfaced this offseason will likely fade to the background once the games begin. But the seeming discord at the top of the organization hasn't appeared to dissipate. It looks like the Butler benching is one of the reasons for that.
Brady won the MVP at 40 years old and threw for 505 yards in the Super Bowl. And yet, his defense couldn't stop anything, while one of its best players sat on the sidelines. Belichick, the man responsible for the decision, apparently has been just as elusive with his players as he's been with the public.
It's easy to understand why the resentment appears to linger.
