Another year, another Dont’a Hightower injury. It was reported this morning that the LB would likely miss the entire season after suffering a torn pectoral.
#Patriots LB Dont’a Hightower has a torn pec and is out for the year, source said.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 26, 2017
The Patriots are in a tough spot as they try to replace Hightower. He’s been one of their defensive leaders since he entered the league in 2012. The coaching staff clearly saw something in him early, as he is the only remaining player from the “three very good young defensive players coming up” that Robert Kraft said were the reason for letting go of Darrelle Revis.
As a signal caller and leader, it is tough to imagine someone stepping up and filling that role to the level Hightower was able to reach. New England signed David Harris, the former Jets LB, to a two-year contract before the season started. His impact has been minimal this far into the season, as last week was his season-high for snaps with 19. Those really only came when Hightower went out. When he was signed, a lot of people, including myself, believed that Harris could fill Hightower’s spot as the MLB and do it well. As the preseason and the regular season began, it was clear Harris wasn’t the same player he was in New York.
Hightower has played over 70% of his snaps at the OLB/DE position this season. This could make way for a potential return of Rob Ninkovich from retirement or Shea McClellin from IR. The Patriots had already designated McClellin as eligible to return from IR, so the injury just puts the plan into motion.
Until that time, the team has elevated LB Trevor Reilly from the practice squad to replace Harvey Langi, who was in a serious car accident and has been placed on the Non-Football Injury list. The 29-year old has been with the Jets, Dolphins, and Patriots in his career, appearing in 31 games in his four seasons. In that time he hasn’t done anything spectacular. He rarely saw action. He’ll probably fill into more of a rotational back-up role. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him inactive most weeks.
Current Patriots LBs: David Harris, Elandon Roberts, Kyle Van Noy, Marquis Flowers (and Cassius Marsh if you choose to play him there)
What do we make of the Hightower contract now?
New England signed Dont’a Hightower to four-year $35.5 million contract this past offseason. The Jets and Titans were two teams that reportedly passed on Hightower due to injury concerns. Everybody thought it was the knee, something he had dealt with in the past, however, it is being reported that it actually had a lot to do with his pectoral.
On the Toucher and Rich show, a Boston morning sports talk show, Albert Breer of the MMQB reported that during physicals in the off-season one team passed on Hightower after they found he had a 65% torn pectoral then. That was in March. SEVEN MONTHS AGO. So, it’s no surprise that this is the case now.
I don’t believe the Patriots overpaid for Hightower. There have been injury concerns his entire career. He only played a full season in 2013. He’s good to miss a few games every year, and I believe that’s part of the reason they got him at the price they did. It’s probably better to have him at the price they paid for a portion of the season than to replace him with a lesser player full-time.
Can the Patriots still win the Super Bowl?
It’s a tough question. They’ve now lost two of the top four or five most important players to the team. The defense has struggled with communication all season, and now missing their defensive leader won’t help. They will need the entire defense to step up. Will that happen? I say probably not. McClellin will be rusty. Harris is older. Reilly is inexperienced. Roberts has looked mediocre at best this season. I don’t know where there is hope coming from at the LB spot. Van Noy? Maybe. I still don’t see him stepping up to take Hightower’s role. It will truly have to be a team effort at every defensive position. The team has completely limited their opportunity for mistakes.
Luckily for New England, they still have five AFC East games left. There may be three AFC East teams in the playoff picture right now, but I don’t believe they’re as good as they’ve played. The Patriots can still make a run through the regular season. Without Hightower, I could see them losing three more games on the season. An 11-5 record will still be good enough to reach the playoffs but may not be enough for home field. We will have to reevaluate when the playoffs come around. You never know what the rest of the league looks like from an injury standpoint. We saw a top AFC team in the Raiders lose Derek Carr in the playoffs and have their championship hopes ripped out from under them. So, it’s still possible for the Patriots to make a run, but it will be a lot tougher for Tom Brady and Bill Belichick to carry this team.