New England Patriots 2021 linebacker playbook: Who stays, who goes
Dont’a Hightower
Dont’a Hightower gets no grade for 2020 since he opted out due to coronavirus as every player had the right to do.
Hightower had an excellent season in 2019 racking up 71 tackles and 5.5 sacks for the campaign. Solid numbers for a solid player. The New England Patriots best at the position.
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The problem here is that Hightower will be 31 in March. Not ancient but not young anymore. He’s had his share of injuries and he carries a whopping salary cap hit in 2021 and huge cap savings if he is released or traded.
The New England Patriots have a decision to make on Dont’a Hightower
The New England Patriots can add $9,945,313 to their cap space by parting ways with Hightower in the offseason. For a rebuilding team, that’s big-time capital to invest in the future to bring in solid young talent to help jump-start the reconstruction.
Make no mistake, this team is in great need of an infusion of youth and vigor.
Yet, even though, it’s anything but an easy decision on Hightower. He’s a gamer, a leader, a solid citizen and oh yeah, he makes big plays in big games (see Super Bowl vs. Atlanta).
But this team is in rebuild mode. Anyone who thinks they are in need of just a tweak here and there, well, that’s just not going to do the job.
If New England wants to rebuild and start a process that may take a few years to get back into contention, never mind domination, it needs monumental change.
Hightower is a player who might fetch super value on the trade market since he could be just the type of asset that a team on the cusp of Super Bowl contention needs. He may fetch a haul of draft picks, though, as mentioned previously, this team is a dreadfully poor drafting team.
Maybe a player and lower picks would be the optimum return for a player of Hightower’s age and pedigree. Getting a solid player back in an area of great need like receiver or tight end would be a big plus for the New England Patriots if that player has an accomplished track record.
There’s little recommendation here for amassing draft picks. The New England Patriots bizarre draft strategy is totally befuddling and they will likely just toss them away anyway.
In any event, it’s probably time to cut ties with Dont’a Hightower and his nearly $10M cap hit. It’s a tough call, one of the toughest on the entire roster. But, it’s just time.
Tough call, but Hightower goes.