Belichick has 'a lot of respect' for Butler, wishes him well with Titans

Bill Belichick was the man who decided Malcolm Butler's time with the New England Patriots would end in the most unceremonious of ways, watching from the sideline as his team lost Super Bowl LII.

However, despite the high-profile benching, Belichick sang the praises of the newly-signed Tennessee Titans cornerback Sunday, while also refusing to go into any more detail about the incident.

"I have a lot of respect for Malcolm," Belichick said, according to Mark Daniels of the Providence Journal. "From the day he got here in rookie minicamp four years ago, he's always competed as hard as he could. He always has been a great competitor on the field, and I totally respect that. I'm not going to get into last year.

"I'm not going to get into next year or some other year. I talked to Malcolm. I wished him well in Tennessee. Obviously, (Titans head coach) Mike (Vrabel) and (Titans GM) Jon (Robinson) are great people that I have a lot of respect for in that organization and I have a lot of respect for Malcolm. We wish him well."

Butler played just one special teams snap after being one of the Patriots' key defenders during the regular season, but took the high road after joining the Titans, saying he will "always have love for New England, Bill Belichick, Mr. Kraft, all those guys. Life just goes on."

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