Just when you thought there couldn't possibly be any more twists in the situation that led to the Super Bowl benching of Malcolm Butler, it appears that we have another twist. 

According to MMQB.com, the benching was such a secret that Bill Belichick didn't even let Patriots owner Robert Kraft know that it was going to happen. The reason that adds to the intrigue here is because if there's anyone in New England who's privy to Belichick's secrets, it's Kraft. 

As a matter of fact, just two days before the Super Bowl, Kraft was actually asked if Belichick ever gives him an idea of what the gameplan is going to be before the Patriots play. 

"Coach always gives me a pretty good overview before the game," Kraft told CNBC the Friday before the Super Bowl.

Apparently, the Butler benching was such a secret that Belichick didn't even want to tell Kraft that it was happening. Belichick has refused to explain why he benched Butler, which has added to the mystery. 

If Belichick decided to bench him as part of the game plan, that makes some sense. Belichick has done some crazy things before as part of his Super Bowl game plan. As defensive coordinator for the Giants in Super Bowl XXV, Belichick decided he was going to let Thurman Thomas run all over his defense in a gameplan that didn't make any sense to linebacker Carl Banks.  

"I thought it was a collective brain fart, like what the hell are you talking about?" Banks said in 2006, via Giants.com "I think because we were a team that prided itself defensively on not giving up hundred-yard rushers, not even giving up 100-yard games for a total offensive rush stat. But he said it, we are all in an uproar, and we're thinking Bill is just conceding that Thurman is just this good of a football player that we won't be able to stop him. And then he reeled us back in and kinda gave us a method to the madness."

Although Thomas ran for 135 yards in game, the Giants ended up winning 20-19 because Belichick's plan worked to perfection: The Bills "thought" they were having a great game on the ground, so they kept pounding the ball. Of course, that's exactly what Belichick wanted them to think, because he didn't want Jim Kelly throwing for 400 yards in the Bills' wide open K-Gun offense. 

If Belichick's plan was to bench Butler to throw the Eagles off their game plan, that makes sense. However, by halftime, it was clear that whatever the Patriots were doing on defense wasn't working, which means if the Butler benching was part of his gameplan, he should've given Butler a chance to play in the second half. 

Of course, that's not what happened. Instead, Butler spent the entire game on the bench and ended up playing only one snap, which came on special teams. 

As of right now, no one seems to know what happened. According to multiple reports, Butler got sick during Super Bowl week, showed up a day late to Minnesota and may have missed curfew. However, it should be noted that Butler has denied all of that. 

Not only did he share his side of the story in an Instagram post, but he seemed to have the support of his starting quarterback. Tom Brady "liked" Butler's post and even left a comment of support. 

With Brady seemingly on Butler's side, that makes recent comments by former New England defensive back Brandon Browner even more interesting. The ex-Patriots corner has suggested that Belchick's decision to sit Butler ended up dividing the locker room, which is why the Patriots struggled. 

The good news is that Butler is a free agent this offseason and there's a 99.99 percent chance he won't be back with the Patriots. Once he signs with another team, he might be willing to share what actually happened and why he was benched in Super Bowl LII.