Avoid costly game of tag
Hightower is a keeper
We’re close to the franchise tag deadline. Maybe the Patriots are closing in on a deal with linebacker Dont’a Hightower. Or maybe they’re not any closer than they were at the outset.
But by the sound of it from people on the inside, nothing appeared imminent yesterday with respect to a contract extension. It’s possible the Pats will franchise Hightower by 4 p.m. tomorrow. It’s also in the realm that the deadline will go by with no deal and no tag.
Let’s just say this about the Patriots dealing with Hightower and his future with the team: Don’t screw it up.
Sure, everyone’s feeling good right now in the afterglow of Super Bowl championship No. 5. Bill Belichick can do no wrong. In the final analysis, every move he’s made has been perceived as the right one during the past year, including parting company with Chandler Jones and Jamie Collins. Winning does that. Sure, players can be replaced, but let’s not get completely ridiculous. Think about what Hightower does. He is the quarterback of the defense. He is the translator for Belichick and defensive coordinator Matt Patricia, putting everyone in the right positions to deal with the offenses the Patriots face every week. He sometimes calls the defense based on what he sees.
He’s a leader and a playmaker, having made two of the biggest plays in the last two Super Bowls to help assure victory.
Without him making a onearm save to stop Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch short of the end zone, there is no Malcolm Butler interception and the Patriots don’t beat Seattle in Super Bowl XLIX.
Without him making a fourthquarter strip-sack of Matt Ryan on third-and-1, the Patriots don’t beat Atlanta, 34-28, in overtime of Super Bowl LI.
You can’t replace that kind of clutch player.
And if anyone saw NFL Network’s SoundFX of Super Bowl LI and heard how Hightower kept lifting the defense to rise play after play, while the Patriots were down by 25, it would seem like a no-brainer to keep the linebacker and defensive captain whether via tag ($14.754 million for one year) or agreeing to a long-term deal.
Instead, we’re a day away from the tag deadline and looking at a Patriots defense possibly devoid of Jones, Collins and Hightower, which was unthinkable a year ago.
If Hightower gets to free agency, he might not come back as safety Devin McCourty did after Belichick made a final pitch. Hightower might be convinced to stay with the Pats if the money is reasonably close and his best offer comes from a lousy team. However, if a contender comes calling, and offers significant money, the Pats will be rolling the dice by not franchising him. And if the Pats lose him, it’s not like there’s someone inhouse to readily replace him. They just don’t have the depth at linebacker. Jonathan Freeny, Shea McClellin, Kyle Van Noy and Elandon Roberts are on the depth chart, but none are in Hightower’s league when it comes to leadership, ability, production, or that difference-making factor.
If they draft a linebacker in the first round, he might not get the system or be really good for a year or two. It took Hightower a while to master the defense and get comfortable.
So this is where it’s at as we hit the final stretch before the tag deadline. Right now, it doesn’t seem like the Pats want to surrender the $14 million to $15 million tag option to one of the most important players on their defense, who has been somewhat injury prone. But we’ll see. They ultimately did that with Vince Wilfork in 2010, and Logan Mankins in 2011 before agreeing to deals on a long-term extension.
If Hightower hits free agency, all bets are off. That’s the gamble you take.
The Patriots certainly have the money, with more than $60 million in cap space, to keep Hightower. The Pats have spent top dollar on players before. There are exceptions and he’s important enough.
There’s time to make it happen. They really shouldn’t blow this one. That’s the bottom line.