Hightower will not be given the tag, now a free agent

[TB12TheGoat]

Meh if he leaves I wish him the best against everyone but us. But Bill will replace him like he has done everyone else for the last 16 years. As long as we have Bill and Brady we are the Super Bowl favorite every year

 

[luuked]

I wanna know the years. A 4 year deal's good to me. I wonder if the pats are offering 3 years.

I said it a couple of times.. a 3 year deal makes sense because it means he will hit FA at the age of 29 instead of 30. Believe if or not but the optics make a difference..

 

[PatsBoy12]

The mistake some people are making here is to think that we will reinvest the money saved by Hightower moving on into some kind of FA/trade coup. I wouldn't bank on it at all unless some kind of situation presents itself out of nowhere.

Agreed

 

[PatsBoy12]

This thread is already full of moron overreactions. We have seen this play out almost every year and, yet, somehow some posters never learn to relax a bit and let the process work itself out.

No, Hightower is not gone yet and there is still a good chance that he won't sign somewhere else.

In case someone offers crazy money:

No, there will not be a splash FA replacement for him.
No, trading Jimmy G. has not become more important. Nothing has changed there.
No, drafting a LB early has not become any more important than it anyway already was. Even if we somehow stumble into Foster it will take that player 1-2 years to develop into a NFL-level ILB that is as versatile as Hightower.
No, this has no effect on any other extension. Just because we don't sign Hightower doesn't mean we will overspend somewhere else to keep other players.

Yup

 

[tasmlab]

I guess he's no longer in the "ring business".

Dont'a Hightower on missing out on Pro Bowl: 'I'm in the ring business'

He'd be a fool to not at least hear what other teams are offering.

 

[FCB02062]

i love hightower, he helped bring in two rings, but he deserves a top tier contract.

plain and simple guys gotta get his money now while the getting is good. he achieved what he needed to, now he needs to get paid.

Why can't Krafty Bob give him his $?

 

[deroc5050]

I get it, but at the same time, I think he's going to be offered a lot more elsewhere. It's silly money out there right now and teams are handing out cash like candy. I hope he stays, but I fear he might be gone now. IMO he's extremely important to the defense. He makes plays when you need them most. I hope he resigns, but I'm nervous.

I hope he stays too the problem is he isn't a 15 million dollar a year guy. He is more like a 10-12mil a year guy. And he always misses time during the season. I think the Pats need him but if someone wants to give 14m a year then I doubt he is back here.

I think he is going to the Titans.

If he leaves then they need to replace him with FA or draft another inside LB. They need OLB damn it! This is the one thing that I hate about the NFL. You can only hold onto a couple players after their rookie deal.

 

[Ring 6]

I hope he stays too the problem is he isn't a 15 million dollar a year guy. He is more like a 10-12mil a year guy. And he always misses time during the season. I think the Pats need him but if someone wants to give 14m a year then I doubt he is back here.

I think he is going to the Titans.

If he leaves then they need to replace him with FA or draft another inside LB. They need OLB damn it! This is the one thing that I hate about the NFL. You can only hold onto a couple players after their rookie deal.

He will easily get 14 mill, and probably more.

 

[Ring 6]

Why can't Krafty Bob give him his $?

Because BB feels he ends up with a better team if he spends that much money on other players and gets more out of it than one guy.

 

[mgteich]

Roberts is a totally different player than Hightower. We will see if he can make a jump this year to be better than hot garbage in coverage.

The mistake some people are making here is to think that we will reinvest the money saved by Hightower moving on into some kind of FA/trade coup. I wouldn't bank on it at all unless some kind of situation presents itself out of nowhere.

You make believe that the team won't spend the $15M of cap money that might have gone to Hightower. Belichick might sign Hightower. He might use the money elsewhere, but he will use the cap money to help the team.

We start with Van Noy, Ninkovich, Roberts, Freeny and McClellan at LB. We will likely add a free agent or two or threes and some draft capital.

The theory is to wisely spend cap money. Maybe Hightower simply isn't $15M better than Roberts. Perhaps, Belichick will use the money at LB, perhaps on the DL or perhaps in the secondary. We don't know where it will be spent. What we DO know is that it will be spent well.

 

[FourierSeries]

Why can't Krafty Bob give him his $?

"Pitchers and catchers, baby!"

 

[deroc5050]

He will easily get 14 mill, and probably more.

If thats the case he is already gone. The Pats won't give him more than 12

 

[Ring 6]

If thats the case he is already gone. The Pats won't give him more than 12

How do you know what they will give him?

 

[PatriotsPimp136]

He will easily get 14 mill, and probably more.

I cannot see anything above 14 million but we will see. Hightower can do alot of things but he's not a consistent pass rusher as a LB. He's not gonna get double digit sacks.

 

[luuked]

You make believe that the team won't spend the $15M of cap money that might have gone to Hightower. Belichick might sign Hightower. He might use the money elsewhere, but he will use the cap money to help the team.

No, I just don't believe there will be a splash FA signing or trade at LB to "replace" Hightower via that money. That money will be put to good use for more depth all around.

 

[denverpatsfan]

I think they should keep him. He shows up in big games unlike the others who aren't here. Sad to see him go.

 

[mgteich]

I am holding out hope that hightower lays off the pipe and comes back to his senses. 15 mil per year? WTF. If he was bringing a consistent pass rush than i can see that.

Hightower doesn't need to convince you of anything.

Perhaps, just perhaps there is some team out there who thinks that he is a top LB, or even a top level ILB.

 

[luuked]

I cannot see anything above 14 million but we will see. Hightower can do alot of things but he's not a consistent pass rusher as a LB. He's not gonna get double digit sacks.

Again, the cap is constantly increasing. 14m is a lot but not crazy money anymore.

 

[Love The Drake]

Thoughts on using that money for a Desean Jackson and Jamal charles?

 

[Ring 6]

You make believe that the team won't spend the $15M of cap money that might have gone to Hightower. Belichick might sign Hightower. He might use the money elsewhere, but he will use the cap money to help the team.

We start with Van Noy, Ninkovich, Roberts, Freeny and McClellan at LB. We will likely add a free agent or two or threes and some draft capital.

The theory is to wisely spend cap money. Maybe Hightower simply isn't $15M better than Roberts. Perhaps, Belichick will use the money at LB, perhaps on the DL or perhaps in the secondary. We don't know where it will be spent. What we DO know is that it will be spent well.

we are currently without starters at:
RB, TE2, DE, DT, LB1, CB2, S3 (and CB1 is an RFA who could sign somewhere for 15 mill a year for all we know) and have only 38 players who really contributed anything last year under contract.
There are an awful lot of things to spend our cap money on, probably more this March 1st than in many, many March 1sts