Malcolm Butler lied his pants off ahead of New England Patriots game

Malcolm Butler, and indeed a number of other Tennessee Titans players are preparing to face off with the New England Patriots this week.

Yet everybody knows that it’s different for Butler. Here’s a guy who was the ultimate NFL story. An undrafted free agent in 2014 who didn’t even play most of the year. He gets substituted late in the Super Bowl against Seattle and makes one of the most clutch interceptions in pro football history to win his team a championship. From there he becomes a starter and eventually makes the Pro Bowl. An incredible run that movies are written about.

Yet the best movies also have their dark moments too. Fast forward to 2017, the Patriots were again in the Super Bowl. Only this time, the script had flipped. After starting on defense the entire and helping them to win two championships, Butler was inexplicably benched for the game. Cameras caught him in tears before the start. People couldn’t figure out what had happened. There were rumors of arriving late to meetings and poor practices.

Still, for a team to bench a player with his experience in such a big game? They paid for it too as Philadelphia racked up almost 400 yards passing and 41 points. Butler was gone a few months later, signing with the Tennesse Titans. Now the reunion is at hand and he offered the classic answer about what it means to face his old team.

"“It’s just another game. It’s just a game. I know I used to play for New England and all of that. I’m not over-hyped. I’m not very pumped. It’s just another game. I’ve got to be ready to play no matter who I play. People are throwing the ball. Just have to be ready.”"

Malcolm Butler isn’t fooling anybody with that answer

Look that answer was far from shocking. It’s the only diplomatic one Butler had. If he told the press what he was actually thinking it would’ve created all sorts of hoopla. He knows it’s hard enough to beat the Patriots without distractions. Giving the Titans unnecessary subjects to talk about would only make it harder. So he was a good soldier and denied any idea this game holds any special significance.

It was a lie though. Don’t be fooled. Butler is a human being. He has emotions. Anybody with them would’ve been devastated and more than a little resentful of what he went through. Help a team win two championships and then just get benched and thrown away like a piece of expired machinery? That hurts and it often lights a fire in a player. A fire to prove to them that they made a major mistake ever doubting him.

He’s going to bring an extra bit of juice to this game.