Things don’t look good for the New England Patriots. According to multiple reports, Patriots linebacker Dont’a Hightower will miss the rest of the 2017 NFL season with a torn pectoral muscle.
Hightower suffered an injury in the third quarter of Sunday’s game against the Atlanta Falcons when he tackled Falcons’ running back Devonta Freeman. After the play, Hightower remained for the next snap and then exited the game, watching the rest from the sidelines. Wednesday’s reports said that Hightower will surely miss the upcoming game against the LA Chargers, but the day after the prognosis got worse and now it looks like the New England Patriots will have to finish the season without him.
This isn’t the first injury of the season for Dont’a Hightower, who previously suffered a knee injury in Week 1 and missed out on the two following games. The Patriots used him partially in the last few games, waiting for Hightower to get back in the game shape. He contributed with 14 tackles and 2 sacks this season. Next in line to replace Hightower are Kyle Van Noy, Elandon Roberts, David Harris, Marquis Flowers and Trevor Reilly.
Dont’a Hightower was selected by the New England Patriots with the 25th pick in the 2012 NFL draft. During his time with the Patriots, Hightower emerged as a valuable player and earned Pro Bowl selection and Second-team All-Pro honors in 2016. He became unrestricted free agent in 2017 and considered offers from various teams including the New York Jets and the Pittsburgh Steelers. After some consideration, he decided to return to the Patriots and signed a four-year, $35.5 million deal.
