This is not going to make you feel any better, Mugsy. But it's also just spit balling and worth what you pay to read it, if not less.
My guess is that they will lose Hightower.
One, I do not think they will franchise him (or anyone else this year). I would like to be wrong on that and don't view the $2-4 mm overpay to be that big of a deal given how much better High is than the currently existing alternatives on the roster.
Two, the body language suggests to me that Hightower is going to require a fully priced deal to sign in NE. I do not see him leaving any money on the table for the privilege of playing in a system he knows and where he knows he will have the chance to win. Make no mistake, I am not denigrating Donta with this. I am just calling it as I t think it is. I base this on his few words in interviews and on the ESPN NFL Insider or whatever it is called show when he was interviewed the week after the game. And a few other interviews. It wasn't so much what he said. It was how he said it.
My concern goes beyond Donta Hightower, however. Much of this incredible ride since the 2001 season has been built on having a deep, talented roster, with the guys on the upper end of the salary echelon being wiling to take a little less than they could get on the market. Brady has consistently done that. I get the sense that we might see less of that from the group of guys who are in line for pay days. Collins and Jones being gone is likely in part based on a judgment that both were going to require fully priced deals. Clearly, they could never keep everyone, and part is also likely tied to BB's decision to prioritize other players.
Said differently, I think it's going to be very interesting to see which of the Butler, Branch, Hightower and Ryan group stays, and whether any of them make it any easier on the Pats with the contracts.
Lest there be any confusion, this is not a five alarm post and I am hardly in panic mode. BB is the best HC/GM in sports, and has demonstrated repeatedly an incredible ability to manage through new problems. I just see this current batch of rising stars to be a slightly different kettle of fish than he has dealt with previously, and am fascinated to see how it will all play out.
PS:
As a related point, our most recent memory of Hightower is incredibly positive. He made one of the key plays of the SB (and the last one for that matter). But two things. One, that play was equally on the RB who flat out ignored him. If he even chips Hightower, Ryan likely passes to a wide open Gabriel and the Falcons win the SB. Two, Hightower IS injury prone. How many games did he miss last year? And how much did the Pats defense fall off in those games? There is an interesting article or exercise in there somewhere. My recollection is that the Pats D did not fall off much in the games Hightower missed last year. But I may not have that right.