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.