After nearly two months of radio silence, Bill Belichick spoke with reporters Sunday night ahead of the NFL Annual Meeting in Orlando, Fla.
Naturally, one of the first questions asked involved Malcolm Butler.
Belichick, who had not addressed the media since Feb. 5, the day after Super Bowl LII, declined to offer any further explanation for his decision not to play Butler in that game. All he would say about the cornerback was that he still has great respect for him.
“I have a lot of respect for Malcolm,” the New England Patriots coach told reporters, via ESPN.com’s Mike Reiss. “From the day he got here, in rookie minicamp four years ago, he’s always competed as hard as he could. He always is a great competitor on the field. I totally respect that. I’m not going to get into last year. I’m not going to get into next year or some other year.”
Belichick said he has spoken to Butler, whose four-year Patriots tenure ended earlier this month when he signed with the Tennessee Titans.
“I talked to Malcolm,” he said. “I wish him well in Tennessee. Obviously, (Titans head coach) Mike (Vrabel) and (general manager) Jon (Robinson) are great people I have a lot of respect for in that organization. I have a lot of respect for Malcolm. We wish him well.”
After signing with Tennessee, Butler opened up about his Super Bowl benching in a Boston Herald interview and again in his introductory Titans news conference.
“I accept full responsibly for myself,” the 28-year-old told reporters in Nashville. “I am not blaming the New England Patriots or no one. It could have been just me, you know. It could have been anything, but I was not feeling too well, and the New England Patriots are all about doing their job. They want everybody locked in and focused 100 percent, and that probably was not the case. I am glad to be a Tennessee Titan.”
