Malcolm Butler went from Super Bowl hero to Super Bowl mystery in 3 years. What’s next?

Butler’s time in New England seems to be about over after Sunday.

The biggest surprise of Super Bowl Sunday wasn’t that the underdog Eagles knocked off the superpower Patriots. It was that Malcolm Butler got benched.

Just three years ago, Butler was the surprising hero of the Patriots’ Super Bowl win against the Seahawks. He went undrafted in 2014, but quickly became the Patriots’ latest hidden gem because of his iconic interception against Russell Wilson.

Since then, it’s been a little bit of a bumpy ride for Butler. But on Sunday against the Eagles, when he got benched without anybody’s knowledge as to why, he reached a new low — going from Super Bowl hero, to a Super Bowl mystery.

He became an unexpected Super Bowl hero, and instant star.

Many people forget, but Malcolm Butler (then, a rookie) actually went from goat to greatness in Super Bowl XLIX against the Seahawks.

After tipping the pass that Jermaine Kearse somehow caught with super-precision to keep the Seahawks alive, he made up for it with the most memorable interception in Super Bowl history. Butler picked off Wilson and sealed the Seahawks’ coffin with the 28-24 win.

Butler’s title changed after that. He wasn’t simply Malcolm Butler, he was Super Bowl Hero Malcolm Butler.

The next season, he would be a Pro Bowler, solidifying himself as a legitimate cornerback in the NFL. It was quite the come up story for the West Alabama alum, until things took a turn after the 2016 season.

The Patriots almost traded him in the offseason.

The New Orleans Saints made a push for Malcolm Butler for weeks during the offseason. But the one snag between the Patriots and Saints was over New Orleans’ No. 11 overall pick that New England wanted.

“Currently, it’s my understanding he hasn’t signed his tender, and so it was just that we can sign him to an offer sheet, but I don’t think we’re going to do that and give up the 11th pick,” Payton said from the owners meetings this past March. “In fact, I know we’re not going to do that. So it is what it is right now.”

It ended up being a good decision by New Orleans. The Saints used the pick on promising young cornerback Marshon Lattimore, who won NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year.

Butler was a restricted free agent last offseason, with the Patriots placing a first-round tender on him. He eventually signed his tender in April, but that didn’t quiet the rumors that he could be traded after the team signed cornerback Stephon Gilmore in free agency.

He ended up playing for the Pats in 2017, and most of their defensive snaps.

Nothing came of the Butler rumors, and he went on to start 15 of the 16 games that he played in. Butler had two interceptions, 12 pass deflections, and three forced fumbles in 2017.

He did this while basically not missing a beat, playing in almost 98 percent of the Patriots’ defensive snaps during the regular season.

Then, the Super Bowl happened.

Early in the first quarter of the Super Bowl, it became apparent that Butler wasn’t going to be getting playing time. Eric Rowe replaced him to cover Alshon Jeffery, and the only time on the field that Butler saw was on special teams. Rowe was targeted multiple times in the first half, and even surrendered the first touchdown of the game.

Butler had been sick leading up to the Super Bowl, showing up on the Patriots’ injury report with an “illness.” But there was no indication that he wouldn’t play in the Super Bowl at all, at least where we’re used to seeing him.

After the game, he was understandably upset. “They gave up on me. Fuck. It is what it is,” Butler told ESPN afterward. He added, “I could’ve changed that game.” At one point, he also said, “I ain’t got nothing to say.”

ESPN’s Mike Reiss would later provide comment from a more toned down Butler, delivering a message you’d expect from a Patriot:

According to MassLive.com’s Kevin Duffy, Butler had been demoted in practice leading up to the game. Even Johnson Bademosi got snaps over Butler in the Super Bowl, who is really more of a depth cornerback than somebody who actually sees the field often.

After the game, Bill Belichick said that the move was not for disciplinary reasons. He also said via Michele Tafoya on NBC’s broadcast, “I made the decisions that give us the best chance to win.”

So, what’s next?

It’s hard to say where this one’s going to go, but the easy answer seems to be that he simply can’t be in New England next season. It wouldn’t be the first time that Belichick has moved on from a player that used to be a star for him — most commonly on the defensive side of the ball.

When he was asked about it, Butler said via ESPN’s Mike Reiss, “I ain’t Miss Cleo, so I can’t tell the future.”

The Patriots traded Chandler Jones in March of 2016 to the Cardinals, and Jamie Collins to the Browns later that year in October. Butler will be a free agent this offseason, so it would be a matter of just letting him walk.

The Patriots have already shopped Butler once, and after Belichick decided to bench his once star-studded cornerback in the biggest game of the season, he could very well be on his way out.

Before the Super Bowl, Butler made comments (via NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport) which indicates he wasn’t happy with how he played this season.

“Anything that happened to me is my fault,” Butler said. “It has nothing to do with anything, it’s possible to just have a sh*tty season. It is what it is. I’m just worried about the Eagles.” When Butler was asked if he was serious, he said, “Compared to the rest of them, I do [think I had a sh*tty season], I have high standards, I didn’t meet my goals. I just feel that way. There were ups and downs, a lack of consistency. But this isn’t about me, this is about the team.”

Butler made just south of $4 million this season after signing his tender, and will be a big name on the free agent market this offseason. DeAndre Hopkins tweeted at him on Monday to come back to Houston, and Butler will likely be hearing courtship from other NFL players as the offseason goes along. Teams like the Texans, Seahawks, Raiders, and Chiefs — great defensive-minded teams in need of secondary help — could be easy places to plug him in and play.

For Butler, it seems that the best solution for him and the Patriots is to move on. But it’s been quite the 180-degree turn for him in New England.