FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- The football reasons that led New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick not to play cornerback Malcolm Butler on defense in Super Bowl LII remain unknown, but it is still a hot-button topic in various media interviews.
One example of this: On Tuesday, NBC play-by-play broadcaster Al Michaels was a guest on "The Rich Eisen Show" and was asked about it, in the context of whether he saw anything during the week that led him to believe Butler wouldn't play a defensive snap.
Michaels, whose legendary career includes calling 10 Super Bowls, noted that NBC broadcasters had access to practice and that he didn't notice anything unusual in terms of Butler's participation.