Report: Dont’a Hightower will not be franchise tagged by New England Patriots
By John Buhler
Super Bowl LI hero Dont’a Hightower will reportedly not be tagged by the New England Patriots. The inside linebacker will be hitting free agency.
Though the New England Patriots will have over $62,481,093 in available salary cap space, they could be without yet another inside linebacker heading into the 2017 NFL season. While the Patriots could have used the franchise tag on free agent inside linebacker Dont’a Hightower, that will not be the case.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Hightower’s agency SportsTrust Advisors out of Atlanta have let the Super Bowl 51 hero know that he will not be getting slapped with the2017 franchise tag. This makes Hightower an unrestricted free agent, able to negotiate with all 32 NFL teams.
Just in: @_sportstrust informed that Patriots' LB @zeus30hightower will not be given franchise tag. Hightower now expected to test market.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 28, 2017
This is odd for several reasons. The first is that Patriots head coach/general manager Bill Belichick essentially tabbed Hightower as his next defensive cornerstone in the Patriots locker room. After Jerod Mayo had to retire for medical reasons, Belichick was looking for one of his young linebackers to emerge as that locker room leader.
Belichick traded outside linebacker Chandler Jones to the Arizona Cardinals last offseason and inside linebacker Jamie Collins to the Cleveland Browns during the 2016 NFL season. Jones was tagged by the Cardinals and Collins signed a multi-year deal with the Browns this offseason.
Would it have been pricey to tag Hightower? Yes, it would have cost the Patriots close to $14.6 million. That’s a bit much for an inside linebacker. Usually that type of money goes towards pass rushers coming off the edge in a 3-4 alignment.
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New England had the cap space to tag Hightower, but are for whatever reason choosing not to. Perhaps the Patriots will negotiate a long-term extension for Hightower? However, Belichick is notorious for letting players go a year early than a year too late. Letting Hightower walk could signify caveat emptor for all 31 teams lobbying for his services in free agency.