Veteran ILB Hightower announces retirement
Published
Dont'a Hightower is calling at a career.
The veteran inside linebacker announced his retirement from the NFL at the age of 33 with an essay in The Players' Tribune.
The Lewisburg, TN native spent the entirety of his career with the New England Patriots, with whom he won three Super Bowl titles.
"Sometimes it’s still unreal to think about…. I am a three-time Super Bowl champion," Hightower wrote. "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 was originally taken with the 25th overall pick of the 2012 NFL Draft out of Alabama, with whom he won two BCS National Championships.
He would go on to appear in 117 career games from 2012 to 2021 (he did not play in 2020), recording 569 tackles, 67 QB hits and 27.0 sacks.
Hightower was twice named to the Pro Bowl, in 2016 and 2019.