Where Don’ta Hightower plays in 2017 has become a process of elimination, and it appears you can cross another team off the board.
The New York Jets are out of the market to sign the free agent linebacker, NFL Media’s Michael Silver reported Wednesday.
According to source familiar with the negotiations, the Jets have been out of the Hightower market since he left the building @nflnetwork
— Michael Silver (@MikeSilver) March 15, 2017
Silver’s coworker, Ian Rapoport, added Hightower’s return to the New England Patriots seems all but guaranteed.
Would be a major surprise if it was anyone but the Patriots. https://t.co/DMCP83XoMc
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 15, 2017
Hightower paid New York a visit in free agency along with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the Jets pulled out all the stops for the Pro Bowl linebacker, reportedly taking him out to dinner Sunday and celebrating his birthday with cupcakes and special television messages at the team’s facility.
New York also reportedly offered Hightower a hefty sum, per Bleacher Report’s Jason Cole.
Told that the #Jets have offered more than $12M per season for #Patriots LB Dont'a Hightower as he gets closer to decision.
— Jason Cole (@JasonCole62) March 15, 2017
Yet despite the Jets’ best efforts, it looks like Hightower would prefer not to play for the Patriots’ AFC East rival in 2017.
UPDATE (1:53 p.m.): The Jets — and the rest of the NFL — are out on Hightower, who’s returning to the Patriots on a four-year deal, his agency announced Wednesday afternoon.
Thumbnail photo via Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports Images
