‘It could have been me’
Hightower deals with buddy’s trade
FOXBORO — Dont’a Hightower is both passionate and practical.
So while he hated to see fellow linebacker Jamie Collins get traded to the Cleveland Browns this week, Hightower recognized the business element of the Patriots’ decision. Collins is like a brother to Hightower, and the star linebackers have at times leaned on one another because they’re both in the final year of their rookie contracts.
For all those reasons, the trade hit a little too close to home.
“It could have happened to me,” Hightower told the Herald yesterday in his first comments since the trade. “Just as easy as it was Jamie, it could have been me. Just like Tom (Brady) said, it could happen to anybody. It’s part of football. It’s the business aspect of it, but honestly, there’s not really much we ourselves can do. If you get traded, it’s not like you can say no. Just try to keep that in the back of your mind and try to handle business the best way I can, and that’s on the field.”
Hightower, a first-time captain, sounded like the franchise quarterback. Brady has also seen some of his best friends get sent packing over the years, including Lawyer Milloy, Willie McGinest, Deion Branch, Adam Vinatieri, Richard Seymour, Wes Welker and Logan Mankins.
“You can’t be around this long and not realize that the world will keep spinning and the sun will come up tomorrow without you,” Brady said. “It could happen to anybody. You just have to show up to work, do the best you can do every day, and let your performance just try to speak for itself.”
Hightower’s evolution as a leader and, potentially, a long-term member of the defense was evident in his reaction to this week’s jarring transaction.
“More shocked than anything,” Hightower said. “Obviously, me and Jamie were real close over the years since him coming in as a rookie and us growing up together on the field. I don’t think our relationship is going to change. He hit me up and shot me some texts in the morning, and we were kind of joking around. It sucks, but it’s just part of football. He worked hard. He might have done things a little different, but he definitely worked when it came to practice, whether it was the tackling drills or during one-on-ones. He was always the first one out there. He’s hardworking. A lot of the plays that he makes in the game, it’s because he’s done it two or three times at practice. His style of play is a little bit different, but it works for him.”
Hightower and Collins grew close during the latter’s rookie season in 2013, and the defense began to revolve around the pair during the Super Bowl XLIX run in 2014 because long-time linebacker Jerod Mayo was down with an injury. Their significance to the operation heightened in 2015, and they were viewed together this season as the two most important impending free agents.
Hightower and Collins were often inseparable at Gillette Stadium, either on the field or in the locker room. They fished, rode four-wheelers and lived it up together in the offseason, too. So after digesting the initial shock of the Collins trade, the ensuing response was essentially curiosity over Hightower’s feelings due to their friendship and Hightower’s importance in the locker room.
“I’m still a person; I still have feelings just like anybody else,” Hightower said. “Losing Jamie is just like losing a brother in that linebacker room. . . . (Elandon Roberts) and (Barkevious) Mingo and everybody in that room has to do the best we can to fill that void. The decision was made. That’s above our pay grade. We handle business as business is being dealt with.”
The Patriots will miss Collins’ playmaking ability, but they still have the best record in the NFL at 7-1 and can’t let those feelings linger with bigger goals in mind.
“It’s definitely not a oneperson job,” Hightower said. “Obviously, I’m going to have to do a lot more things that I didn’t have to do with Jamie being here, but I’ll be OK with that. I’ve had to do that before. I think Shea (McClellin) and Rob (Ninkovich) and a couple of those guys who have a little more experience, it’ll be easier for us to bring Elandon and Mingo and those young guys with us as far as work ethic and the extra stuff we’ll have to do to fill that void.”
‘Losing Jamie is just like losing a brother in that linebacker room.’ — DONT’A HIGHTOWER On Jamie Collins trade