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Dont'a Hightower: 5 best fits in NFL free agency

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 8:25 p.m. ET

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Dont’a Hightower was an important piece in the New England Patriots Super Bowl winning defense. Here are the five best landing spots for him in free agency.

The New England Patriots are coming off their fifth Super Bowl of the Tom Brady and Bill Belichick era in Foxborough. New England was able to keep the most explosive offense in football in the Atlanta Falcons below 30 points in Super Bowl LI, winning 34-28 in overtime.

While they had a bit of a no-name defense, one guy in the New England front-seven that earned himself a ton of cash this offseason is linebacker Dont’a Hightower. New England drafted Hightower late in the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft out of the University of Alabama.

Though he is a top free agency priority for the Patriots, here are the five teams that will try their best to land the Pro Bowl and Super Bowl champion linebacker in NFL free agency.

Chicago Bears

NFC, North

Despite being one of the worst teams in football, the Chicago Bears are expected to be aggressive in NFL free agency. Obviously head coach John Fox will want to make the most of his many NFL Draft picks, but he’ll need to get a few playmakers in free agency to get a fourth year at the helm with the Bears.

Chicago finished with the sixth-worst run defense in football in 2016. The Bears surrendered 1,950 yards on the ground in another lost season for the reeling NFC North football franchise. Fortunately for the Bears, they will have a projected $59,008,321 worth of salary cap space to improve their football team.

While the Bears will not be anywhere close to the team Hightower would be leaving in New England, Fox has proven to be one of the best linebacker coaches in football. Leaving Belichick in Foxborough is a tough decision to make, but Fox is a head coach that Hightower could thrive playing for.

Hightower could be a candidate for getting slapped with the franchise tag. However, the projected $14.6 million that would go to a linebacker is more likely to be used on a pass rusher as opposed to a run stuffer like Hightower.

It’s a tad pricey for New England, so that force their hand and let Hightower walk out the door. Again, that doesn’t seem likely, but $15 million annually and getting a chance to be a cornerstone in Fox’s Bears defense isn’t a bad alternative than starring in Foxborough.

November 20, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; New England Patriots middle linebacker Dont’a Hightower (54) before the game against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium. The Patriots defeated the 49ers 30-17. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Indianapolis Colts

AFC, South

Like Chicago, another NFL franchise that will have cap space and a need to get better at linebacker will be the Indianapolis Colts. Expect new general manager Chris Ballard to land himself a defensive franchise cornerstone to rebuild head coach Chuck Pagano’s defense.

Hightower would be the star in Pagano’s front-seven. In theory, Hightower would spend the bulk of his prime as the dominating middle linebacker to play on the opposite side of the ball from franchise quarterback Andrew Luck.

Obviously, seeing Hightower leave for the AFC rival Colts would make the New England brass cringe. Indianapolis is still a year or so away from serious Super Bowl contention, but have the opportunity to make great strides in improving their middle of the pack football team this offseason.

Indianapolis had the eighth-worst run defense in the NFL. Ballard will have a projected $55,880,819 to surround Luck with the best possible football players in the offseason. Hightower might be the best possible free agent signing the Colts could garner this spring.

In all honesty, the Colts will have to pay a premium to pry Hightower away from New England. They have the financial resources available to do that. It’s not likely, but Indianapolis is a slightly better landing spot over Chicago for the sake of the Colts being a few years closer to Super Bowl contention over the Bears.

Aug 26, 2016; Charlotte, NC, USA; New England Patriots outside linebacker Dont’a Hightower (54) during the pre-season game at Bank of America Stadium. Patriots win 19-17 over the Panthers. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

Miami Dolphins

AFC, East

The Patriots have had a vise-like stranglehold on the AFC East for the last 15 years. Beating New England is priority No. 1 for its three biggest rivals in the division. If Hightower leaves the Patriots in 2017 to a divisional rival, that team might be the Miami Dolphins.

While Todd Bowles and Sean McDermott are strong defensive-minded head coaches, it’s more of a sure thing to join something that looks pretty good in Miami with Adam Gase. Though Gase is a offensive-minded coach, he had the foresight to have a strong replacement for defensive coordinator in house in Matt Burke, knowing that Vance Joseph was going to be an NFL head coach very soon.

Miami had its issues defensively under Joseph. However, Burke will provide the continuity to potentially see the Dolphins get better on that side of the ball. The Dolphins are good in the pass rush and are trying interesting things in the secondary. That being said, they need to get better at run defense at linebacker.

The Dolphins will only have $29,379,383 to work with this offseason, but seem to have a competent team already in place. A few upgrades at some positions could have the Dolphins back in the AFC Playoffs for the second straight year.

Though Miami doesn’t have the money to realistically pay the premium on a player of Hightower’s caliber, it may be worth it for the Dolphins front office. He would make their defense instantly better, while also weakening their biggest threat in the division in the Patriots.

Jan 16, 2016; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots outside linebacker Dont’a Hightower (54) heads off the field after defeating the Kansas City Chiefs in a AFC Divisional round playoff game at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

San Francisco 49ers

NFC, West

The biggest rebuilding project in football is the San Francisco 49ers. New general manager John Lynch and new head coach Kyle Shanahan have a clean slate to make this horrid NFC West franchise into something more promising.

Though they are new in their respective roles, football people respect Lynch and Shanahan. That will only help them in their quest to land a few major splashes in 2017 NFL free agency. San Francisco has plenty of resources to do just that.

The 49ers will have $83,679,651 to work with this offseason to sign players in free agency and through the draft. Though they are not going to be a Super Bowl contender overnight, expect the 49ers to look markedly improved over the atrocity they had been the previous two seasons.

San Francisco was the worst run defense in football last year. Only the Cleveland Browns will have more cap space to improve their football team this offseason. Cleveland has found their linebacker solution in former Patriot Jamie Collins. Could the 49ers poach New England for their other stud linebacker in Hightower?

While New England has ample cap space and will do everything in its power to keep Hightower, we could be preparing for a bidding war between the Patriots and the 49ers for Hightower’s services. San Francisco can offer him the most money and a locker room role on par with New England.

Feb 5, 2017; Houston, TX, USA; New England Patriots middle linebacker Dont’a Hightower (54) and defensive coordinator Matt Patricia celebrate with the Vince Lombardi Trophy during Super Bowl LI at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

New England Patriots

AFC, East

New England is all about doing one’s job. The Patriots have one job to do in the offseason: sign Hightower to a multi-year deal. If he leaves New England, it’s one Belichick and the Patriots front office 100 percent.

Belichick already chose Hightower to be the defensive leader in the locker room. Once Jerod Mayo had to retire, Belichick eyed Collins and Hightower to see who would be Mayo’s heir apparent. Very early in the season, it became crystal clear that guy was Hightower.

Hightower would have his best year as a professional, winning a Super Bowl and garnering his first Pro Bowl selection at linebacker. New England could exercise the $14.8 million franchise tag on Hightower. The Patriots do have a projected $62,946,093 worth of cap space available for 2017.

While New England is not a team that likes to pay a premium on any player, if it has to it can with regards to keeping Hightower around for the long-term. New England may want to put together a long-term extension for Hightower before letting him dip his toes into free agency.

The immediate future in New England looks blinding bright. The Patriots are the early favorites to win Super Bowl LII in Minneapolis next February. However, they may have to pay more than they want to keep Hightower in New England. He will at least garner the $14.8 million tag. Hightower is about to get paid.