Malcolm Butler didn't play a single defensive snap in Super Bowl LII. In his absence, Nick Foles and the Philly offense shredded New England's defense for 538 yards and put up 41 points. The now former Patriots corner's mysterious benching for the loss to the Eagles made all kinds of headlines in the build up to the game and the story still isn't going away almost two months later. Butler claimed earlier this month that he never got a concrete reason from Belichick for his benching, and he's now opened up on the incident and how he thinks the game may have unfolded had he played.

"I never missed a game. Never missed practice or anything like that. Would we have won if I played? Probably. Maybe. I'm not sure," Butler said on an episode of SI: Under the Cover.

"I would say we were short about one or two plays," Butler added, "and I saw a couple plays out there I could have made." he added. 

Super Bowl LII turned out to be the last time Butler put on a Patriots uniform as he signed a five-year, $61 million contract with the Titans on March 15. 

He also lifted the lid further on what he was thinking and feeling whilst watching his teammates getting outplayed by a swarming Eagles team:

"There were times that I was on the sideline that I just wanted to go up and say to (Bill) Belichick or Matt Patricia and just say, ‘This is how we’re going to end this?’ I grew up in the Patriots system, and I’m a well-mannered guy. I respect my authority. I just couldn’t ask them for something they didn’t want to do. I just was doing my job. I was close to going up there and saying what I wanted to say to Matt or Belichick, but I just stayed in my lane and just did my job, man. I really wanted to go ask them, but I didn’t.”

Butler certainly seemed upset about the way he exited the organisation, but noted that no player wants to be somewhere they don't feel wanted:

“You know, I wanted to go out like Kobe Bryant. I might not be Kobe Bryant, I’ll never be Kobe Bryant, but I always told myself that I always wanted to finish my career on one team and just go out like that...But no one wants to be somewhere where they’re not wanted.”

The 28-year-old will be linking up with former Pats player and new Titans HC Mike Vrabel in Tennessee, something that was clearly a telling factor in his signing there. 

The story surrounding that bizarre benching is now a little clearer, at least from Butler's point of view. But, nobody should expect the other side of it to come to light any time soon.