If you ever wanted proof that New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick holds no special regard for any player and cares first, foremost and only about acquiring and developing players that can help his team win yet another Super Bowl, look no farther than last year's Lombardi Trophy-winning hero, Malcolm Butler.
Butler, a mostly unknown corner who rocketed to the forefront of the cultural consciousness after he jumped a route and picked off Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson to seal the Patriots Super Bowl XLIX victory, the fourth of the Belichick era, has entered the offseason as a potentially high-upside player at a position of pretty significant need for the Patriots after Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner departed in free agency.
Despite that, Butler has reportedly been riding the pine thus far at Patriots OTAs.
Why?
He showed up late.
"Butler was late for the first practice of organized team activities May 26 because he missed a flight on the way to Boston due to weather issues, and he was held off the practice field for nearly three weeks, according to a team source. Butler attempted to fly into Boston the day before OTAs, but the weather-related issues pushed his arrival into the next day," writes Jeff Howe of The Boston Herald.
Three weeks for bad weather - that's no joke.
According to Howe he did attempt to reach out to the team and let them know he wasn't going to make it on time, but Patriots players are often advised to travel early to avoid such incidents.
Of course, prior to his last-gasp interception, Butler didn't have much in the way of a pedigree or prior NFL production. In 11 regular season games in 2014, he'd amassed 15 tackles and four passes defensed. While Butler does look like a good bet to get some serious playing time in 2015, he certainly isn't assured anything.
At the very least, he seems to have learned his lesson.
"The team source said Butler was very disappointed to be held out of practice, but he treated it as a lesson learned and has brought the right attitude to Gillette on a daily basis," writes Howe.
Whether he can beat out Logan Ryan and Bradley Fletcher for a starting gig remains to be seen, but getting onto the practice field will be a big first step in that effort for Butler.
