Dont'a Hightower Stays in New England
And there it is: #Patriots LB Dont’a Hightower is headed back to New England, per @_SportsTrust
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 15, 2017
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Sweet mother of God. The most dramatic and newsmaking offseason in Patriots history rolls on. The absolute biggest piece to their post Super Bowl puzzle just locked up the coveted 2nd contract and it’s safe to say that the defending champions have done more than make themselves better. They’ve built a frigging wagon.
Without question, Hightower was the big one. If they’d lost him, it would have meant they’d lost all the guys who looked like they were going to be the core of this defense about three years ago. The reason they were able to sell fans on giving up Chandler Jones and Jamie Collins was that they weren’t going to be able to pay all three. Expecting fans to let them all go for a total return of Malcolm Mitchell, Joe Thuney and some late Day 2 draft pick would have been a big ask. But now? If you had to choose one of those three to keep, they made the right choice.
Hightower is the big, punishing, downhill tackler that looked like it was going extinct a few years ago, but will always have a place in football until they outlaw tackling all together. But also a guy you can slide up to the line as Will linebacker on passing downs. A guy who’s developed the ability to read a play pre-snap and be moving to the ball before the handoff exchange has even been made. Who wears the green dot in the most complex defense designed since NORAD. And who made two plays that did nothing less than save two Super Bowl wins. He would have left a gaping hole in the middle of Matt Patricia’s scheme that all the Elandon Roberts in the world might not have been able to fill. And now they won’t have to.
I guess this just means the Jets cupcakes didn’t have quite the power they thought they would.
So as we speak, here’s who the Pats have added, retained and lost:
Added:
Stephon Gilmore
Brandin Cooks
Dwyane Allen
Lawrence Guy
Kony Ealy
Rex Burkhead
Lost:
Logan Ryan
Martellus Bennett
Chris Long
Some draft picks
Kept:
Dont’a Hightower
Duron Harmon
Alan Branch
Every coach except Brian Daboll
Literally everyone else that matters
And the Patriots go into the future with the second toughest Hightower of all time:
Now it’s your move, Malcolm Butler. Somebody do me a favor and get the Duckboats ready.