Patriots Rumor Mill: Dont'a Hightower is About to Retire

Steven Senne. Shutterstock Images.

I'm not one to chase every internet rumor out there. Especially on a day like today when I'm already way behind on my usual head start to my Thanksgiving drinking. But this one, semi-confirmed by people I trust, definitely clears the very high bar I place on blog-worthiness:

Big, if true, to say the very least. 

Don'ta Hightower is more than just the green dotted quarterback of the Patriots defense. Right now, if he never plays another game, he is one of the great Patriots of all time. One of the best draft picks of the Belichick Epoch. A guy who, unlike his fellow 2012 first rounder Chandler Jones, earned the coveted second contract. As a matter of fact, reached the end of his rookie deal, hit free agency, was ranked by ESPN as the top free agent on the market, shopped himself around for a while, and having established his market, re-signed with New England. 

More importantly, the guy who made huge, game-changing championship plays in not one, not two, but three Super Bowl wins. Get a load of this video, because it's incredible editing. You can't squeeze more history-making clutchness into half a minute:

By way of context, that stop on Marshawn Lynch preceded the Malcolm Butler interception. The strip sack of Matt Ryan gave the Patriots the ball at the Atlanta 25 with 8:24 left and from that point on the Patriots scored three more touchdowns. And his sack of Jared Goff game on the Rams deepest penetration of the game, as Hightower's defense kept the 11th most prolific offense in history out of the red zone and to three points. 

That's the guy they'd be saying goodbye to if this ends up being true. A universally respected mainstay, a team captain and a member of the Patriots Three Ring Club. A guy who since he left high school has only played for Nick Saban and Belichick, knows this system better than anyone and would be a huge asset on the sidelines in any capacity.

And here's what it'll mean in the cold, unemotional calculus that has built and maintained this Dynasty. 

Not to bury the secondary part of this story, but yes, Marcus Cannon is also involved in this rumor, along with Pat Chung.

And while those guys have been cornerstone players as well, this part of the rumor feels less surprising and like their retirements will have less impact. Cannon has had to overcome a lot of health issues since the time he was first diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma at the Combine. Chung has been in the league for 12 years and pretty much at retirement age for a safety. And it seems like their replacements are already on the roster, with Michael Onwenu and Kyle Dugger. Hightower's departure will leave a 6-foot-3, 260 pound, powerful and instinctive hole in the middle of this defense. A hole into which we're already seeing a lot of opponents run through this season. 

Again, it's still just a rumor. But a credible one. And one that will have tons of impact on the future of the team if it's confirmed. Stay tuned.