FOXBORO, Mass. — Prior to last season, New England Patriots linebacker Dont’a Hightower usually was good to miss three or four games per season. That’s changed, for worse and for better, over the last two years.
Hightower hadn’t suffered a season-ending injury prior to 2017. He missed two games as a rookie, four in each of his third and fourth seasons and three in 2016. His 2013 season still is his only year of full health. He was on the field for the postseason in the first five years of his career, two of which concluded with big plays in Super Bowl wins.
Then Hightower tore a pectoral muscle five games into his 2017 season and was lost for the year. He changed up his routine over the offseason, deciding instead to hit on smaller muscles, and he’s missed just one game in 2018.
“That’s literally a lot of what I’ve been doing. You hear a lot of guys just doing more treatment and stuff, and that’s literally kind of been my story,” Hightower said Friday. “I haven’t been doing the heavy weights, the heavy squat stuff. I’ve been doing a lot more core, a lot more function movement stuff. I feel like that’s definitely kind of helped me out. I’ve still kept my power, and I’ve stayed lean. I’ve stayed healthy for the most part, so I’m just going to continue to build on that.”
Hightower hasn’t had the same kind of disruption and production this season as compared to past seasons. The 28-year-old seems to be playing on the edge more this season, which could limit his tackle production. He wouldn’t describe his new position as a different role, however.
“The defense runs a little bit different,” Hightower said. “We run the schemes a little bit different. So, to you, it might look a little bit different. To me, it’s the same with a little twist. The more you can do and whatever’s asked is what’s done around here. The more that I’m able to do, the more I can put on my plate.”
Hightower’s role in the locker room doesn’t seem to have changed much, however, despite the fact he’s not a captain this season. He’s still answering questions from younger and less experienced defenders on the roster on a regular basis.
“We do it a lot, especially being a team that changes week to week,” Hightower said. “A lot of our calls change. A lot of the things we do changes — not necessarily fundamental-wise or technique-wise. Whether it’s me or (Devin McCourty) or it’s (Kyle Van Noy) or Malcom (Brown) or Trey (Flowers), we’re always talking, always trying to make sure we’re on the same page, because a lot of times in a defense it just takes one guy to be off of an assignment or a check or something and everything goes crazy. So, we try to stay on the same page, and if we’re on the same page and we’re at where one guy’s thinking, then we’re able to get the checks a lot quicker, a lot faster.”
Patriots head coach Bill Belichick gave Hightower praise for his communication skills Friday morning.
“He’s a very, I’d say natural and instinctive football player,” Belichick said. “A lot of it comes easy to him, but he studies and he’s smart and knows the game plan and is in tune with what they’re doing. He works well with the line and the secondary, as well as the linebackers, which that’s important too. Some guys work well within their group, but he works well with Devin, Pat (Chung), Duron (Harmon), as well as the defensive line — Malcom and Lawrence (Guy) and the ends and so forth, giving them calls and making sure that our communication and our assignments are correct on the different offensive formation adjustments we have to make. He’s good at all of that.”
