After signing with the Tennessee Titans, cornerback Malcolm Butler said he never received an explanation on why he didn't play a single defensive snap in Super Bowl LII.

Butler was on the field for 97.8 per cent of the New England Patriots' defensive snaps during the regular season but was benched in favour of Eric Rowe against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Rowe struggled as the Patriots allowed 374 passing yards to Nick Foles. Butler said after the loss the Patriots "gave up me" while he and head coach Bill Belichick both said it was a coach's decision.

On Wednesday, however, Butler noted he rose to stardom on a similar decision by Belichick in Super Bowl XLIX against the Seattle Seahawks, and therefore wouldn't question his now former head coach.

"I never got a reason," Butler told the Boston Herald. "I feel like this was the reason: I got kind of sick. I went to the hospital. They probably thought I was kind of late on the game plan. I wasn't as locked in as I should be and could have been a matchup deal. It could have been anything.

"But Bill Belichick has been doing this for a very long time. He took a veteran out of Super Bowl XLIX [against the Seahawks] and put in a first-year rookie, and that turned out right, so you could never question his decision. It didn't work out right [against the Eagles]. It didn't work out the best for me or him or the New England Patriots. But I can say he won more than he lost, so it is what it is. I always have love for New England, Bill Belichick, Mr. Kraft, all those guys. Life just goes on."

Undrafted out of West Alabama, Butler rose to prominence during Super Bowl XLIX when he famously picked off Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson at the goal line in the game's dying seconds to preserve a 28-24 triumph for the Pats. He spent much of last offseason attached to various trade rumours, but the native of Vicksburg, MS signed a one-year deal to return to the Pats as a restricted free agent.

Butler joined the Titans on a five-year, $61 million contract.