Report: Hightower, Cannon to retire

[BradytoMosstoGronk]

Thank you Hightower for your one armed, game saving tackle on Lynch in the SB. Was one player i regret not getting his jersey. Tough dude, loved his game.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

Huge parts of dynasty v2. Sad but i was already preparing for life without those 2 and chung. We’ll see what dmc and edelman have left but they aren’t far behind imo.

Feels like 2008 when tedy, vrabel, rodney and some otheswere about done. Itll probably take a few years to get this defense back where it needs to be.

 

[bormio]

When Hightower was healthy, the defense was noticeably better. Always made our run defense stouter. Seemed to stay dinged up the last few years - but that’s the NFL.

 

[slam]

Isn’t the cap going down a bit next year due to Covid? If so, it seems like it’d be a great year for Bill to go bargain hunting in the cap casualty bin with the relatively huge cap space he’ll have this offseason. Like 2001-2004 all over again.

 

[JMC00]

"Report"... Come on. Adam Schefter tweeting something is a report, some literal who Pats fan isn't a report. It's the equivalent of someone on here saying "I think Hightower and Cannon will retire rather than play anymore if covid is still going on"

Also the coaching role thing is beyond laughable. Does this dude know what coaching for NE means? You ain't 9-5'ing it and getting weekends off. I just don't see Hightower uprooting (he just built or bought a home in Tennessee a couple years ago) to go put in more hours especially the reason why he opted out was partly because of his diabetic mom. If he was to join a coaching staff Vrabel's would be the most likely given he lives in Tennessee


Maybe it does happen but this guy is just guessing IMO

 

[Doctor DDS]

Hightower made some of the most important post season plays in Patriots history highlighted by his tackle of Lynch and strip sack of Ryan. Would have been an even greater player if he'd played a decade earlier when the rules were more conducive to his strengths. He will be sorely missed if this news is true.

 

[stcjones]

Ton of thanks to Hightower for everything he did for this organization.....Great teammate and leader!!!! Wish him all the best!

 

[tasmlab]

Yes. Quite possibly Cannon, Hightower, Chung, the McCourtys, Edelman. Those are going to be some big shoes to fill -- even if BB can find a viable quarterback.

Matt Slater could be on that list as well.

 

[nextsuperstar]

Shouldn’t the title be “Twitter rumor” not “report”

 

[Kontradiction]

Hightower is, and still will be, badly missed. But it’s not like LB wasn’t a need before this announcement came. Completely blank slate this offseason for BB to transform the team.

 

[Soliel]

The both of them are not going anywhere. Fake news! And not only that but the guy reporting this nonsense is losing his hair.

 

[DropKickFlutie]

Hightower is one of the best Patriots ever. Huge loss if true


.

 

[notex]

tough to take this too serious given the source? Maybe I am behind the times but never heard of this guy. If it were Breer/Schefter/Curran etc I'd 100% believe it.

 

[Brandon_Cox]

Ugh. Hurts. Bad. My fav current Patriot. One of my fav players ever. My hopes were he'd come back one more year.

Which one?

 

[juny]

i'm waiting for sharksofvegas to confirm this

 

[holyredeemer]

"Report"... Come on. Adam Schefter tweeting something is a report, some literal who Pats fan isn't a report. It's the equivalent of someone on here saying "I think Hightower and Cannon will retire rather than play anymore if covid is still going on"

Also the coaching role thing is beyond laughable. Does this dude know what coaching for NE means? You ain't 9-5'ing it and getting weekends off. I just don't see Hightower uprooting (he just built or bought a home in Tennessee a couple years ago) to go put in more hours especially the reason why he opted out was partly because of his diabetic mom. If he was to join a coaching staff Vrabel's would be the most likely given he lives in Tennessee


Maybe it does happen but this guy is just guessing IMO

I just don’t understand why everyone is responding to this tweet as if it’s from a credible source.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

Isn’t the cap going down a bit next year due to Covid? If so, it seems like it’d be a great year for Bill to go bargain hunting in the cap casualty bin with the relatively huge cap space he’ll have this offseason. Like 2001-2004 all over again.

Good point, he plucked quite a bit in 2001. Vrabel, phifer, pleasant, patten, Antowain smith, Compton, Marc Edwards, Izzo, Buckley, Shaw. All key roles, might even be forgetting some. That type of class could totally transform a team. Just a matter of how late will these players come available. Better draft position and likely 3rd place schedule should help too.

 

[everlong]

Hightower has a young family (chanting 28-3 while his wife was giving birth still cracks me up) and has had a lot of injuries. He's made a boat load of money, is a 2X NCAA Champion and is 3X SB Champion. Good for him for getting out before he completely breaks his body.

 

[NashuaPats]

This next free agency period is going to be very exciting. The traffic here is going to be crazy.

 

[Steve102]

Hightower is, and still will be, badly missed. But it’s not like LB wasn’t a need before this announcement came. Completely blank slate this offseason for BB to transform the team.

I seriously look for that influx of new blood much like BB did before the 2001 season. Cornerback Terrell Buckley, guard Mike Compton, linebacker Bryan Cox, fullback Marc Edwards, quarterback Damon Huard, linebacker Larry Izzo, receiver David Patten, linebacker Roman Phifer, defensive end Anthony Pleasant, running back Antowain Smith, and linebacker Mike Vrabel all came in an contributed huge amounts. They are in great shape with cap next year. Even if he brings in 3-4 guys who contribute, it'll be a big year.

I have my doubts about Cam. I like the fact that we have a veteran guy here to deal with the pressures of following Tom, but I don't think he's "the guy". That's the biggest hole on this team, IMO.