Three-time Super Bowl champion Dont'a Hightower officially retires from NFL
BOSTON -- Dont'a Hightower did not play in the NFL last season, but he never officially closed the door on his playing career.
That changed on Tuesday, when the 33-year-old announced his retirement from the NFL.
"I know these announcements always feel bittersweet, but I can't think of a better story than the one I wrote in New England," Hightower wrote on The Players' Tribune. "A decade, three Super Bowls, two Pro Bowls, and the birth of my son — all playing for one franchise. How many guys have a story like that?"
The Patriots drafted Hightower out of Alabama with the 25th overall pick in the 2012 draft. He played in 117 regular-season games for New England, recording 569 total tackles with 27 sacks, making two Pro Bowls (2016, 2019) and one Second Team All-Pro (2016).
He also played in 17 postseason games, including three Super Bowls. Hightower made some memorable plays in those championship wins, including a goal-line tackle of Marshawn Lynch before the Malcolm Butler interception, and a critical strip-sack of Matt Ryan in the fourth quarter of the Patriots' historic 28-3 comeback over the Falcons. He also sacked Jared Goff twice in the Patriots' win over the Rams in Super Bowl LIII.
Among the memories flooding Hightower's mind upon retirement, he couldn't help but marvel at the heartiness of Patriots fans.
"I can't even lie to you. My first reaction when I got the call from the Patriots on draft night was, 'Dang it seems cold up there.' I think I managed to try one sleeveless game in my whole career as a Patriot, and it was a struggle. I don't know how you crazy dudes up in the stands at Foxborough be drinking beers with no shirts on in the middle of January," Hightower wrote. "You're truly a different breed. But you have always supported me — on and off the field — from Super Bowl wins to charity events and beyond, Pats Nation has always showed up."
Hightower did not play in 2020, opting out of the season due to COVID-19 concerns. He returned in 2021, starting 15 regular-season games and playing in the Patriots' lone playoff game. But he remained unsigned last offseason and is now officially ending his playing career.
"Sometimes it's still unreal to think about…. I am a three-time Super Bowl champion. Pretty good for a kid from Lewisburg, Tennessee. I appreciate everyone who helped me make this dream come true. But I especially want to thank my mom. None of this happens without her. Now that I got my own 40-pound two-year-old running around the house like a little wrecking ball, I don't know how you held it down for us all by yourself," Hightower reflected. "I just want to say thank you for helping me live my dream. To you, to my beautiful wife, Morgan, to all my coaches, my teammates, my mentors, my teachers, my friends, my entire family, and to all the fans at Bama and New England ... Thank you. Just thank you. I wouldn't rewrite a single chapter of this story."
