(Photo: USA TODAY Sports)
Linebacker Dont'a Hightower played a key role for the Patriots' defense en route to their first Super Bowl championship in a decade.
He did it all with a torn labrum sustained in a Week 13 loss to the Packers, and Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald saysHightower (Alabama) had surgery to repair the injury last week. Per Howe, it will be six or seven months before the linebacker returns to the field. That means he could be back in August or September and could miss all or part of training camp.
In 12 regular-season games, the third-year pro had 89 tackles, a career-high six sacks and a forced fumble. He collected another 16 tackles in the postseason. While he toughed it out for the season's most critical stretch, New England would certainly miss him if he's not back in time for the regular-season opener on Sept. 10.
Howe notes Hightower's injury could also make the Patriots more tepid in their efforts to re-structure fellow linebacker Jerod Mayo's contract. Mayo, a two-time Pro Bowler who tore his patellar tendon in the sixth game of 2014, is owed almost $10.3 million in 2015 and the club likely wants to trim that number. But they have less leverage with the uncertainty about Hightower's status moving forward.
However, the team and Mayo should still be able to find a solution as there's mutual interest for him to remain in New England.
http://nep.247sports.com/Bolt/Surgery-will-keep-Donta-Hightower-out-6-7-months-35812661
