MINNEAPOLIS (WHDH) — The Patriots’ final hopes rested on a hail mary pass from Tom Brady in the closing seconds of Super Bowl LII, but the prayers weren’t answered this year.
As the focus for New England shifts to the offseason, there are plenty of questions left to answer, including on one player who — surprisingly — didn’t play in the title game.
Cornerback Malcolm Butler could be seen in tears during the national anthem. Once the game started, Butler was still on the sideline.
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The hero of the Super Bowl win against Seattle didn’t play a single snap on defense Sunday night’s 41-33 loss to Philadelphia despite playing nearly 98 percent of the team’s defensive snaps during the regular season.
Coach Bill Belichick never explained the decision, only saying he put his best players out there. Butler had been dealing with an illness, but Belichick said after the game that Butler was healthy.
“I respect Malcolm’s competitiveness and I’m sure that he felt like he could have helped. I’m sure other players felt the same way,” Belichick said Monday on a conference call. “In the end, we have to make the decisions that we fell are best for the football team. That’s what I did.”
Whether Butler, a free agent, returns to the Patriots is unclear. And he’s not the only one.
Concern is mounting that star tight end Rob Gronkowski could be considering retirement.
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“I don’t know how you heard that, but I mean, I’m definitely going to look into my future, for sure,” he said after the game. “I’m going to sit down the next couple of weeks and see where I’m at.”
Gronkowski has dealt with more than his fair share of injuries throughout his career including knee and back injuries as well as concussions, including one that forced him to miss part of the AFC Championship Game this season.
When pressed about retirement talk, Gronk just said he has a lot to think about.
“I’m just gonna sit down, reflect on the season, talk to my teammates,” he said.
Belichick was asked about Gronkowski’s future on Monday as well, saying he would not be commenting on the situation.
Brady, who is planning on coming back next season at 41 years old, said the Eagles made one more good play than the Patriots, and that was all the difference.
“You show up and you try to win, and sometimes you lose, and that’s the way it goes,” he said.
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