Patriots LB Dont'a Hightower (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
As if the departure of Tom Brady wasn’t debilitating enough, the Patriots’ playoff chances were pretty much massacred in 2020 after they lost eight players — most of whom were projected starters — to opt outs due to concerns about playing amid the global pandemic.
As far as the defense is concerned, opt-out safety Patrick Chung shocked the organization when he announced his retirement earlier this offseason. That made it all the more important that linebacker Dont’a Hightower would eventually confirm his return.
The last we heard about Hightower’s status for next season came a few months ago when teammate Devin McCourty revealed the 31-year-old was planning to report to the Patriots this offseason, which went a long way towards quelling the retirement speculation.