Bill Belichick reveals his decision on not playing former Super Bowl hero, Pro Bowler

Bill Belichick revealed after his team's 41-33 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LII that his decision not to play Malcolm Butler came down to a "football decision."

#Patriots head coach Bill Belichick says Malcolm Butler wasn?t held out for disciplinary reasons or his illness. pic.twitter.com/yNJ74Ky1s9

— Raul Martinez NBC10 Boston (@RaulNBCBoston) February 5, 2018

Belichick said Butler didn?t play due to a football decision not disciplinary decision pic.twitter.com/Jx1ZqScTfA

— Mark Daniels (@MarkDanielsPJ) February 5, 2018

Matt Patricia addresses Malcolm Butler pic.twitter.com/ZhKKWh3kkq

— Courtney Cox (@coxcourtney) February 5, 2018

The Patriots were whalloped through the air, with Nick Foles lighting New England up to a the tune of 373 yards through the air, three touchdowns and one interception.

Butler is a former Pro Bowler, two-time Super Bowl champion and has started 16, 16 and 15 games in each of the last three years, respectively. He's also registered eight interceptions over the last three seasons.

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