Report: Malcolm Butler benching came after canceled flight

AP Photo/Kathy Willens

By Jeremy Gottlieb

June 11, 2015

2 minutes to read

The Patriots mandatory summer minicamp begins next week, and so far, Super Bowl hero Malcolm Butler has been MIA for OTAs.

Some light may have been shed on his absence from the field Wednesday when the Boston Herald’s Jeff Howe reported, citing a team source, that Butler missed a flight due to inclement weather and was subsequently late for the Patriots’ first OTA session. The Providence Journal’s Mark Daniels confirmed the report and added another detail regarding flights out of Atlanta the day Butler was scheduled to leave.

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As a result, Butler has been sidelined ever since, according to Howe. That’s a total of three weeks.

If this seems like an excessive punishment for being late to an offseason workout, remember that the Patriots, specifically coach Bill Belichick, aren’t interested in any excuses for tardiness. Belichick proved that last season when he benched running back Jonas Gray for sleeping through his alarm clock not even a week after Gray ran for 201 yards and four touchdowns in a nationally televised win over the Indianapolis Colts.

Another example of Belichick’s lack of patience for anything less than complete and total punctuality can be traced back to the 2009 season, when he sent wide receiver Randy Moss and linebackers Derrick Burgess, Gary Guyton and Adalius Thomas home for being late to a morning meeting due to snowy road conditions. That discipline prompted Thomas to tell the media, “You leave home, cars sitting there, it’s not The Jetsons. I can’t jump up and fly.’’

It may be that Belichick is being extra harsh with Butler, whose goal-line interception in the final minute of the Super Bowl this past February as an undrafted rookie corner sealed the Patriots’ fourth championship, in an attempt to ensure the NCAA Div. II West Alabama product stays as humble as possible in the aftermath of his star-making play. Whatever the rationale, Howe reports that Butler, who apparently alerted the team to his travel issues and has been at Gillette Stadium every day and at all meetings, workouts, and film sessions during OTAs, is expected to be back on the practice field on Thursday.