FOXBORO — The Patriots have continued to shape their defense around a pair of young building blocks.
They exercised defensive end Chandler Jones’ fifth-year option for the 2016 season last night, according to a source, which came a day after they picked up linebacker Dont’a Hightower’s option. Teams have until Sunday to exercise the fifth-year options for their 2012 first-round draft picks.
Jones, who has a 2015 salary cap hit of $2,600,659, is now in the books for $7.799 million in 2016. Hightower’s cap hit in 2015 is $2,457,637, and he’ll earn a $7.