Let's talk about the Hightower situation.

[ForThoseAboutToRock]

Hightower on not going to the parade:



Going through Reiss's Twitter feed, it seems like he's quoting Hightower speaking to Wendi Nix.

Also, a quote from Hightower in this article in the ProJo:

"Absolutely. I've spent five years here. You know, I'm eager to see how that'll turn out," Hightower said. "You know, I'm looking forward to it... I love New England. I love the fans. They can keep their cold weather, but it's been a great five years and I've loved every second of it."

 

[I.M. Fletcher]

SB Champs

Top shelf analysis.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Hightower on not going to the parade:



Going through Reiss's Twitter feed, it seems like he's quoting Hightower speaking to Wendi Nix.

Also, a quote from Hightower in this article in the ProJo:

Sounds like a man who is ready to explore his options.

 

[farn]

Top shelf analysis.

Point is : so many speak in absolutes "can't win without Gronk" , "gotta keep Revis" , "why are they trading Collins"... team knows what they have & HT situation is yet another decision BB needs to make.

I used to be a "gotta keep _____" fan. Now, not so much. Just win. If that is with HT, great. Without ? Still great.

We don't know what they know. Is he worth 14-15M on tag ? Maybe so. If not, there'll be a plan.

Truth : the incredible win % and the number of SBs (rightly) gives BB lots of leaway here. I am confident he'll figure it out. And if HT leaves, I'd be comfortable putting money on NE's record > than whomever he ends up with's record.

 

[102 Pat]

Top shelf analysis.

Given that it's been less than 72 hours since the game ended I think it's great analysis.

 

[obgod3]

Come on last year it was said they offered him 8 Milllion a year, I heard that yesterday also and now today some dhead says 10...whatever.

I think Hightower wants to stay and I think they will work something out.

Can the Pats live without him....you bet.

 

[venecol]

F.........ck. Really wanted him back. I can't say I blame him for going for the money after 5 years. These guys don't last very long. Fact is he knows BB will dump him if he has to so might as well cash in while he can.

Great player, helped Pats win 2 SBs. If he goes wish him the best of luck (and health).

 

[KamikazeKnight]

Do we really want a guy who doesn't want or care about being here?

 

[Bill Lee]

Dont'a Hightower on returning to New England Patriots: 'That's up in the air'

Lots of good info in that article by Kevin Duffy:

He has also played through knee injuries in each of the past two years. He missed four games in 2014 and 2015, and three more games in 2016.

Hightower recently watched his mentor, Jerod Mayo, retire at age 29 due to injuries. Hightower is 26 years old. He likely knows he won't have many opportunities to cash in on lucrative long-term contracts.

Meanwhile, the Patriots are five years removed from giving Mayo a five-year, $50 million contract with a reported $25 million in guarantees. They signed the deal in December 2011, and Mayo finished the 2013, 2014, and 2015 seasons on injured reserve.

I'm pretty concerned about the knee injuries. To me that limits his potential value, but who knows if other teams will treat the injuries as being significant. That even impacts the franchise tag, since it is guaranteed for injury (i.e. the Pats pay full value regardless of injuries). It seems strange that the Mayo and Collins deals are for $26M guaranteed, yet the franchise tag value is almost $15M, given that most "guarantees" are pro-rated for injury (i.e. you get some but not all the guaranteed money when injured). Seems the smartest thing to do is pay the man the going rate and move on. If he gets injured, some of the guarantee stays in the bank. If his play declines, he's probably cuttable in 2-3 years.

But of course we have the Brady factor, where the Pats don't want to pay anyone more than Brady. Seems like Tommy might have to take one for the team and accept a raise?

I certainly wouldn't blame the guy for keeping his options open.

After all, he already has two Super Bowl championships. Now he has the opportunity for a big payday I think that might be more important to him going forward than the championships (again, since he has 2). This is based not on anything he has said but just my take on nature human logic.

Totally agree. All NFL players dream to be where he is, coming into free agency at the prime of his career and with all the hype associated with winning the best Super Bowl ever, where he was the heart of the defense and made an incredibly important play.

Collins got 50 mil and 26 guarenteed? I was under the impression that Collins was the superior more versatile player. So he should get a touch under that unless things have changed since last season. Plus you have to figure Collins was going to be a little more expensive to keep in Cleveland. But maybe Jamie likes going 2-14 or worse.

Also, seems to be similar to the number Mayo signed for years ago, according to the article posted above.

Since we know the Pats offered him $10M/season already, why would they expect him to take less money than Mayo did? Or now, we see what Collins got. Why would he take less? It seems the Collins deal is four years while Mayo was 5, but most of the guarantee is up front and the number of years usually is just there to spread out the hit.

 

[PatriotsPimp136]

Come on last year it was said they offered him 8 Milllion a year, I heard that yesterday also and now today some dhead says 10...whatever.

I think Hightower wants to stay and I think they will work something out.

Can the Pats live without him....you bet.

It would leave a hole at LB. Idk about these other guys at LB. I trust BB would have a backup plan though.

 

[Bill Lee]

Do we really want a guy who doesn't want or care about being here?

C'mon, man, why are you saying that? He was a key player all year long and made a HUGE play in the Super Bowl.

There's lots of reasons why a guy chooses to skip a parade. Business probably is a factor. But that doesn't mean he "doesn't want or care about being here", it means he wants to be paid.

 

[RobertWeathers]

I'm starting to get the feeling he is good as gone.

I bet they franchise him and trade him.

 

[I.M. Fletcher]

Point is : so many speak in absolutes "can't win without Gronk" , "gotta keep Revis" , "why are they trading Collins"... team knows what they have & HT situation is yet another decision BB needs to make.

I used to be a "gotta keep _____" fan. Now, not so much. Just win. If that is with HT, great. Without ? Still great.

We don't know what they know. Is he worth 14-15M on tag ? Maybe so. If not, there'll be a plan.

Truth : the incredible win % and the number of SBs (rightly) gives BB lots of leaway here. I am confident he'll figure it out. And if HT leaves, I'd be comfortable putting money on NE's record > than whomever he ends up with's record.

We see this the same way. We can win without having HT, but there aren't very many ready made solutions, on the roster or in free agency/draft.

There is also a breaking point in losing quality players before it really begins to show itself. If Ryan, or Harmon or HT or branch go, we begin to run out of options. At some point, you begin to look like that 2009-2012 defense, and at that point, you need perfection from your offense.

 

[I.M. Fletcher]

Given that it's been less than 72 hours since the game ended I think it's great analysis.

You can't call scoreboard on a game that hasn't been played.

 

[PatriotsPimp136]

We see this the same way. We can win without having HT, but there aren't very many ready made solutions, on the roster or in free agency/draft.

There is also a breaking point in losing quality players before it really begins to show itself. If Ryan, or Harmon or HT or branch go, we begin to run out of options. At some point, you begin to look like that 2009-2012 defense, and at that point, you need perfection from your offense.

Well if they trade jimmy they might be able to get some young pieces on defense. They could franchise HT and trade him.

 

[Ring 6]

HT said it when he was asked about it on Sports Center. He did not elaborate either, just said he didn't "partake"

I saw that but I think he meant he wasn't drinking. They were talking about the drinking and he said let me be the first to say I didn't partake at the parade

 

[JPPT1974]

Yeah as really Jimmy has potential to be a starter elsewhere. Though not in New England!

 

[farn]

We see this the same way. We can win without having HT, but there aren't very many ready made solutions, on the roster or in free agency/draft.

There is also a breaking point in losing quality players before it really begins to show itself. If Ryan, or Harmon or HT or branch go, we begin to run out of options. At some point, you begin to look like that 2009-2012 defense, and at that point, you need perfection from your offense.

Except that I just watched ppl called Shea, Van Noy, and Rowe help control ATL... so, "yes" we do see it the same way, but I feel the risk of going back to 2012, while possible might be improbable.

I want Harmon. Would also love HT. But the latter might not be the slam dunk we once would have thought when NE wS shedding the likes of Collins & Jones and seemingly freeing $.

 

[I.M. Fletcher]

Except that I just watched ppl called Shea, Van Noy, and Rowe help control ATL... so, "yes" we do see it the same way, but I feel the risk of going back to 2012, while possible might be improbable.

I want Harmon. Would also love HT. But the latter might not be the slam dunk we once would have thought when NE wS shedding the likes of Collins & Jones and seemingly freeing $.

There were many arguments a year ago about whether or not the team would be able to afford

Jones
Collins
Hightower
Butler
Sheard

Now it's the same argument, but the list is different

Hightower
Butler
Ryan
Harmon
Branch

They can do whatever they want, but the dollars are there if they want to.

 

[Keyser Söze]

Weak excuse to skip the parade. Can't imagine he's back the way he's talking.