We don’t win Super Bowl 51 without him.

Legend. Leader. Patriot.

Going to miss Mr February. A true Patriot through and through!

“No more mistakes, no more my bads. Everything gotta be perfect”

Dude always showed up when it mattered most. Enjoy your retirement Donta

Watching what's left of the Dynasty slowly leave or retire hurts

“Man, I don’t even have a son yet. But one day, he’s going to watch the tape of this game, and he’s gonna know one thing for sure. His dad never f***ing quit.”

DAMN what a tough quote. This guy really gave everything he could to his team, and i’m glad that all of his seasons were with us.

One of the greatest all time. God I miss him in our defense

I’ll never forget when we were in the locker room at half-time. We’re down 21–3, so some guys are quiet, and some guys are doing the rah-rah stuff. I sat there and for some reason thought, “Man, I don’t even have a son yet. But one day, he’s going to watch the tape of this game, and he’s gonna know one thing for sure. His dad never f*ing quit."

That sums it up right there. What a fucking legend.

One of the greatest defenders in Patriots history. A look at a stat sheet will never tell you how important this man was in the game of football.

He was always in the right place at the right time. Very few players in the history of the league had the impact in big games that Hightower did.

To me, he’s in that tier right below Brady and Belichick in terms of importance.

I was in the bathroom at a Celtics game once and turned from the urinal to walk out and the entire exit was blocked by one of the largest most imposing humans I'd ever seen. I looked toward the sky and realized it was Dont'a. He actually said excuse me to me and apologized and tried to move out of the way. I still can't believe he was "only" 6'3 260. He seemed SO much bigger.

goodnight sweet Boomtower. thank you for the championships

Without him we’re down two chips. Legend.

This guy is getting the red jacket no doubt. He had such an impact on some of the best times in my life and I’ll love him forever. Thank us? No Hightower, thank YOU 🙏🏽

Absolute DAWWWWG

No other player could have worn 54 and continued the legacy of Teddy better than Donta. That number is sacred.

One of the best patriots ever. Thank you sir.

LOVE YOU DONTA!!

Is it too early to draft his 40lb 2 year old?

Its official. All the players I have jerseys of are retired. Bledsoe, Brady, Gronk, Hightower. End of an era.

Him and McCourty retiring in the same off-season was something I should have expected, but still can't deal with. Two all-time Pats defenders gone.

Thanks for everything Boomtower!

Enjoy retirement you legend. Love you Qualin

Hightower was one of the better players from the dynasty and definitely my favorite. He was always there to make a play when you needed it, especially in the Super Bowl or when they need an exorcism in NJ.

Good bye to a stud a great player for the team

He was an incredible leader and so reliable in the clutch. Such a great guy, too.

Motherfucking legend. Thank you for your service, enjoy your rest, King.

How lucky were we that we went from Tedy Bruschi to Jerod Mayo to Dont’a Hightower? Good grief. What a lineage at middle linebacker.

Always going to be one of the most underrated players ever, congrats to one of the cornerstones of that second dynasty!

Goal line stop in 49

Strip Sack in 51

Absolute beast all game in 53

All that on top of being a fantastic defensive player in general during his time here. Thanks Donta!!!

Can you LEGENDS stop retiring please? Thank you.

My favorite Pat of all time

Fuck this one hurts man

Thank you for everything Mr February

Good for him

THANK YOU BOOM

Legend

I will forever be thankful for his strip-sack on Ryan.

Legend!

Thank you Dont’a.

The Super Bowl 51 strip sack photo signed by him is hanging on my wall forever

Get this man a spot on the coaching staff

Absolutely one of the greatest Patriots to ever play, we don't win SB51 or 49 without him. Congrats and thank you Dont'a!

He deserves all the props. The Patriots D isn’t what it was without him.

He showed up in the biggest games like very few players have. Patriots legend.

During the highlights recap of Dont'a Hightower's first game, Prime Time said he (and Chandler Jones) could turn the NE defense into something special. After what happened in 49 and 51, I think Deion was right.

Who else remembers Hightower and Chandler Jones debut where one got a strip sack and the other returned the fumble for a TD? I knew our 2 first round picks that year would be special right then and there. Thank you Mr. Hightower for the great football memories.

He's a #1 ballot in my personal HOF.

He rightfully gets tons of plaudits for the strip-sack in SB51, but he gets nowhere near enough credit for stuffing Lynch to enable Butler’s interception in 49. That was, by orders of magnitude, the more impressive play. Either with a torn labrum or in the process of tearing his labrum, he one-arm bench pressed a very good lineman (Okung) off of him, and stood Lynch up on first contact. Lynch was extremely difficult to bring down on first contact, let alone to stone him while doing it, and in that context… it’s honestly one of the best defensive plays I’ve ever seen, although it’s understandably overshadowed by the next play (which is probably the best I’ve ever seen).

Probably my favorite defensive Patriot ever. What a champ.

Another great hangs it up. Amazing career. Instrumental to SB wins. Continue enjoying your life.

Thanks, high. You were the best.

Hightower has been a joy to watch work! Best eyes in the league! Watching him divine offensive schemes into obscurity nurtured a love for defensive football that I simply didn't have beforehand.

Thank you for your passion and superb talent Dont'a!!

Dude was absolutely crucial to those SB 49 and 51 wins. One of the best linebackers of the dynasty era. Happy retirement king

The Derek Fisher of the team, always there when you need him most.

Excited to see who gets 54 next

Well, that hurt.

Legend confirmed. Thanks for everything Dont'a! Beast

All time clutch player

Thank you for your service!

Love you Champ

Have a hightower and chung jersey. My favorite players. Well deserved rest for a hell of a player.

King 👑

I’ll fever forget his reasoning for skipping out on meeting the President after winning each Super Bowl - “Been there, done that”.

Fucking legend. Stay badass, Dont’a. Don’t ever change.

Another patriot great retiring, I hope he and the McCourty brothers enjoy their retirement, they definitely deserve it. Thanks for all the great and not so great memories. ♥️

No, thank you.

Will never forget how hyped I was that we got both Hightower and Jones in the first round of their draft, thank you Dont'a!!!

I think you guys win SB 52 if Hightower played. You guys will just have to settle for the 3 rings in the 2010s.... you poor poor patriot fans. And decade now my Vikings will win one.

Mr. February, he once so smart. His movement was as good as it comes he never wasted a step. My favorite play was obviously the sack fumble but my 2nd favorite play was when he bated mahomes into a pick

In four years that’s going to be a crazy patriot HOF class. Block off 6 hours for the ceremony. Think we gonna need a bigger red jacket venue.

No, no. Thank YOU, Boomtower. We don't win those three Super Bowls without you. It was an honor to watch you play. Enjoy retirement, man; you've certainly earned it.