FOXBORO -- It was 5:23 in the afternoon when a metal cart full of duffle bags rolled into the Patriots locker room Monday. A young clubhouse attendant tossed the bags into a pile on the floor, and a minute later, another cart rolled in.
The bags were distributed, one by one, so that at exactly 5:29 p.m., Malcolm Butler’s landed directly in front of his still-full locker.
It just sat there with nothing to say, apparently toeing the company line.
One day after their Super Bowl disappointment in Minneapolis, the Patriots were back at Gillette Stadium with no answers for Sunday night’s most vexing question: Why was Butler on the sideline when the team so clearly needed him on the field.