Bill Belichick: Dont’a Hightower’s worked right in very quickly

[Pat Patriot]

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The Patriots signed plenty of free agents this offseason and that made getting everyone on the same page a significant part of their offseason program.

While those new arrivals and the team’s rookies have been acclimating themselves to life in New England, there are also a few players refreshing themselves. Running back Brandon Bolden, linebacker Dont'a Hightower and tight end Matt LaCosse are all back after opting out of the 2020 season.

On Monday, head coach Bill Belichick was asked specifically about Hightower’s return and how he looks after a year away from the game.

“It’s good to have all the players that we have and yeah, it was good to see High,” Belichick said. “High’s worked right in very quickly. He’s obviously a smart player with a lot of experience and has a lot of leadership force on the team. But again, we’re not really in an evaluation mode here, so we’ll see how all that goes for everybody when we get to that point.”

Evaluation mode will come this summer and Hightower will work to show the Patriots he’s ready to step back into the major role he played before deciding not to get on the field last year.