According to the Associated Press on Tuesday, New England Patriots linebacker Dont’a Hightower of Lewisburg, Tennessee announced his retirement at the age of 33. He played eight consecutive seasons with the Patriots from 2012 to 2019, and again one more season in 2021. Hightower did not play the 2022 NFL regular season and decided to pen his announcement by thanking New England in a self-written post that could be read on theplayerstribune.com.
In 117 games, Hightower had 569 combined tackles (353 solo tackles and 216 assisted tackles), 43 tackles for a loss, 67 quarterback hits, one safety, one interception for 27 yards, 18 pass deflections, two forced fumbles, five fumble recoveries for 32 yards and two touchdowns, and 27 sacks. Hightower’s fumble recoveries for touchdowns were for six yards in a 34-13 Patriots win over the Tennessee Titans on September 9, 2012 (his first ever NFL game) and for 26 yards in a 27-13 Patriots win over the Cleveland Browns on October 27, 2019.
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Hightower’s forced fumbles came in a 41-13 Patriots win over the Miami Dolphins on December 14, 2014 and in a 30-17 Patriots win over the San Francisco 49ers on November 20, 2016. His safety came in a 35-17 Patriots win over the Cincinnati Bengals on October 16, 2016 and his interception came in a 43-40 Patriots win over the Kansas City Chiefs on October 14, 2018.
Hightower twice was selected to the Pro Bowl. The first time came in 2016 and the second time came in 2019. In 2016, Hightower had 65 combined tackles (31 solo tackles and 34 assisted tackles), one tackle for a loss, eight quarterback hits, one safety, 2.5 sacks, two pass deflections and one forced fumble. In 2019, he had 71 combined tackles (47 solo tackles and 24 assisted tackles), 13 quarterback hits, eight tackles for a loss, 5.5 sacks, four pass deflections, one fumble recovery for 26 yards and one touchdown. Hightower also won three Super Bowls–in 2015, 2017, and 2019.
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