Oakland Raiders Fans Hoping For Hightower May Be Sorely Disappointed

The Oakland Raiders were believed to be very high on a certain Super Bowl winning linebacker this offseason – but word is starting to filter out that he may not be as available as once thought.

Needing some help at the inside linebacker spot, some natural dot connecting led to the assumption that the Oakland Raiders would be making a big run at Dont’a Hightower of the Patriots. Of course, there was no word that GM Reggie McKenzie was actually jumping into the Hightower sweepstakes, but hopes that he’d chase him among the Raider Nation were high.

Well, word is starting to filter out that Hightower – who seemed dead set on playing the market – may actually not be as available as he wanted everybody to believe.

It seemed like a pretty perfect fit, all things considered. With the team letting Malcolm Smith walk, the Raiders had – errrr… have – a pressing need for an insider backer who can play the run and pass equally as well. Also, somebody with a solid reputation as a pass rusher as well would be icing on the cake.

And on the surface, Hightower seemed to tick all those boxes. With the Patriots declining to tag him – giving him the $14 million or so that goes along with it – it seemed pretty serendipitous.

Of course, given a lack of actual cap space to work with this offseason by virtue of some big contracts for Derek Carr and Khalil Mack due up, McKenzie was going to have to find a clever way to finagle a deal that would pay Hightower what everybody assumed he was expecting – which was a lot.

But here we are, a few days into free agency now, and Hightower is still on the market. And now, word is beginning to go around that he is more than likely, headed back to the Patriots.

According to the MMQB’s Albert Breer, one team who is in pursuit of Hightower believes that ultimately, he’ll return to New England.

This time of year, as teams jockey for position at the free agency buffet table, there is always quite a bit of subterfuge and obfuscation. And when a report like this comes out, it’s sometimes best to take it with a grain – or ten – of salt.

On one hand, it could be a false report floated out by Hightower’s agent. Why? Because perhaps the market for the star linebacker hasn’t been as robust (re: lucrative) as they’d hoped when they set out into the waters of free agency. It’s perhaps believed that by hanging a report like that out there, it will drum up some further interest (re: dollars) in making a deal.

On the other hand, it could be a report put out there by one of the teams pursuing the linebacker with the hope that it could scare off other potential suitors. It would be a nefarious little plan, but one we’ve seen before. Less competition would make it easier for the team that floated the idea out there in the first place – like say, the Titans who are considered the only team currently in the running – to reel him in.

On still another hand, it very well could be that Hightower has looked around – sort of – and decided that New England is the place for him. After all, the Patriots are the team that originally made him a first round pick in 2012, and is the team he just won a Super Bowl with. Some ties run deep and loyalty means a lot to certain players.

There are a lot of theories and opinions floating around out there, but it’s very notable that three days into the free agency period, Hightower remains unsigned and on the market. And that he canceled a meeting with the New Orleans Saints over the weekend is leading many to believe that Breer’s reports are right.

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Let’s also not forget that there has been no indication from McKenzie that the team is even planning on kicking the tires on Hightower. He would have been a good fit and would have helped take this defense to another level – but it’s looking like fans who are holding out hope that McKenzie takes a run at him are going to be disappointed.